Twist Of Fate
by SassySolarian
Summary: Stella Solaria moves to Gardenia to live with her Mom and attends Gardenia high, where she meets the hot but crowned asshole of the school Brandon Shields. After a bad first encounter, they become ruthless enemies and soon discover they're neighbours. No one know why he's such a hot headed jerk, but will Stella be the one he finally opens up to?
1. Arriving in Gardenia

**Hellooo. I'm so hyped for this story its unreal, probably because I have so many ideas for it. I'm not gonna bore you with a long ass speech or anything, so you can get reading. Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V**

"But why dad?" I wailed, banging my fist onto the arm rest of the couch.

"Sorry, but thats just how it is. And with everything that's happened in the past year, we need a fresh start . _You_ need a fresh start " My dad sighed.

"Besides, you'll make lots of friends there." he added.

"Thats not the point. I wanna stay here in Miami because...well, I've lived here all my life, I love it too much to leave. Plus, Disneyland is only 3 hours away" I said.

"Well in California they have Disney Land, Universal Studios and not to mention, a LOT of shopping malls" he said.

 _Can't argue with that, can I?_

"Ugh, fine." I sighed, getting up and going to my room to pack.

Oh right, forgot to introduce myself.

Hey, I'm Stella Solaria, I'm 17 years old and I currently live in Miami, Florida.

That argument with my dad? Well, my parents think it will be 'beneficial' to ship me off to live with my mom in the town of Gardenia, which is somewhere in Southern California near Los angeles I presume. Yup, thats right, my parents are divorced, yet they manage to sustain a healthy relationship.

So back to the point - I have to go live with my mom and my plane is leaving tomorow. I didn't even get a say in this, but I guess my parents are doing it for my own good.

And it's nothing to do with my mom, infact, I love my mom to death and I couldn't ask for better parents. Its just, I'm not ready to move to a different state yet, as I said before, Miami is my home.

Whatever, maybe it won't be all that bad in Gardenia..

* * *

"Now remember, don't trouble your mother, and don't max out her credit card with your shopping craze" my dad lectured, as he handed me my bags.

"Okay okay I get it. Now I'm gonna miss my flight, so I'll see you in the summer?" I asked.

"Yep. Bye Stellie, love you" he said, hugging me.

"Love you too" I said, before walking into the airport.

"There's no going back now. You can do this" I said to myself, before boarding the plane.

After about 6 hours, we finally landed. As I walked out of the airport, I spotted my mom standing next to a matte black range rover. A huge grin spread on my face as I immediately dropped my bags and sprinted to her, surprising her in a hug.

"Stella! God you've grown since the last time I saw you" she said.

"And you seem to be doing quite well" I smirked, motioning to the guy next to her.

"Oh, sweetie I want you to meet Angelo. Angelo, meet my daughter, Stella" she smiled, as the guy shook hands with me.

Angelo huh? I'm guessing he's my mom's new boyfriend or something. I took a good look at him, tan skin, greenish blue eyes and short dark brown hair.

"He's a hockey player" she whispered.

Well that explains it.

You see, my mom is _crazy_ about hockey. She used to drag me along to every national game and would dress extremely patriotic...it was pretty embarrassing if you ask me.

"Nice to meet you Stella. Your mother's told me all about you, I think we'll get along just fine. Now what do you say we go home and I'll cook Italian? My treat." he said.

"I love Italian food!" I squealed, as I got in the car.

 _Yup, we're gonna get along great._

* * *

The sun hit my eyes, waking me up. I looked over at my phone and it was 6AM, so I got out of bed and started to get ready.

Now, I'm not normally a morning person, but today's my first day at Gardenia high, and I don't wanna make a bad impression, now do I?

Trust me, this getting up early thing will wear off in a week or so.

I took a quick shower and changed into a pair of black ripped jeans, a white graphic tee and white low top converse. I tied my hair up into a high ponytail and applied a little makeup before grabbing my bag and going downstairs.

After eating breakfast, my mom drove me to school, and I entered the huge building which was swarming with students. I went to the principal's office to get my timetable, and then to my locker.

"Maths first? Fuck my life" I groaned, rolling my eyes.

I SUCKED at maths.

Like, _really_ , _really_ badly.

But its not my fault its so boring, now is it?

A couple minutes later, the bell rang and everyone was rushing to their lessons. I looked back at my timetable to check what classroom I was in, and while I was distracted, I bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going, klutz" the guy snapped.

Did I say guy? My mistake, I meant _jerk_.

"Hey, it's not my fault you're too blinded by your ego to see me walking, so back at ya" I hissed.

All the students around us started yelling 'BURN' and were muttering amongst themselves, some even laughing.

I mentally pat myself on the back for that. Already roasted a guy and its only 8:15 - impressive Stella, impressive.

Gee, this guy must actually have a huge ego, since what I said seemed to make sense to people.

"You messed with the wrong guy" he mumbled under his breath, as he walked away.

"Dude, that was fucking dope" someone said, making me turn around. It was a asian girl with pale skin, midnight blue eyes and hair, and a huge smirk on her face.

"Thanks. I'm Stella" I said.

"I'm Musa. Are you new or something? I've never seen you before" she said.

"Yup" I said. She glanced at my timetable and then back at me.

"We have pretty much the same classes, want me to show you around later?" she asked.

"Yeah that would be great" I said.

"I have maths first too, and an empty seat next to me. Trust me, the back of the room is the best, so you're sitting next to me and thats final" she said as we walked to class.

Once we got there, all eyes were on me, and then the teacher started to talk.

 _Please don't embarrass me._

"Class, we have a new student, Stella" he started. "Now since I'm nice, I'm gonna save you the embarrassment of introducing yourself and let you sit down."

Thank God.

I walked to the back and took my seat next to Musa, who was currently arguing with the guy on the other side of me.

"Oh get a life, Shields!" she whispered, narrowing her eyes at the guy.

I looked over and saw the same guy from this morning. I didn't really get a chance to look at him, since he was so fast to walk away. He had tan skin, chocolate brown eyes and hair, and a fringe that was sharply angled to his right eye.

"Says the girl who spends her time making noise" he said.

"You did _not_ just call my music noise. I will fuck you up so badly, you'll be needing surgery" she growled, leaning over my desk.

She's a feisty one...should've expected that.

"Can't he see you?" I asked, pointing at the teacher who was oblivious to the catfight going on over here.

"Nope. Switched his glasses to short distance ones at the beginning of the year so he can't see whats going on in the back. He still hasn't realised" she said.

"Should've given him earplugs too, save him the excruciating pain of your voice" the guy scoffed.

I looked over to Musa, who was still angry but a there was a flash of hurt across her face.

"Damn, why are you so rude?" I asked.

"None of your business, blondie" he said.

"I have a name, douche" I said.

"Does it look like I care?" he asked.

"Why are you even sitting here, Brandon? Go sit with your friends" Musa said.

So that's his name - Brandon Shields.

"He has friends?" I asked, making Musa burst into laughter.

"I'm serious, how does he get friends with an attitude like that?" I asked.

"He hates girls, snaps at each and every one of them. But he's fine with guys" Musa said.

I would joke about how she said he was 'fine with guys' if you get what I mean, but he's gonna flip a table.

"Anyways, why _are_ you sitting here?" I asked, repeating Musa's question.

"Yeah, tell her" Musa aksed.

"I'm only here to tell you to fuck off, because you may think your all that, but you haven't seen anything yet" he said.

"So you're officially ' _declaring war_ ' on me?" I asked jokingly.

"Yup" he said.

"You can't be serious dude" I said.

"Why, are you _scared_?" he smirked.

"Fine then, consider us enemies" I said.

"You better watch out, blondie" he said, before walking to another seat next to a group of guys.

"He's um..."

"Egoistic? Cruel? Cold hearted? Hot headed? I know. His friends are fine though, I mean the magenta haired one over there, Riven, he's my boyfriend." Musa said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yup. And the blonde one is Sky, he's Bloom's boyfriend" she said.

"Who's Bloom?" I asked.

"She's my best friend, its normally just the two of us. But now we have you" she said.

"I didn't expect to make friends that fast, but okay" I said.

"Don't worry, not everyone is like _Mr Sunshine_ over there" she said sarcastically, referring to Brandon.

* * *

"And then, guess what she said!" Musa said, sipping on her soda. We were currently in the cafeteria and I was sitting with Musa and Bloom.

Bloom's actually really sweet and positive and bubbly. She has cerulean blue eyes, long red hair and pale skin.

"What?" Bloom laughed.

"She said, um, wait...say it again Stel?" Musa said.

"I said, It's not my fault you're too blinded by your ego to see me walking" I repeated.

"Yup, too bad you missed it. You should have seen the look on his face, as if he was embarrassed because someone stood up to him" She said.

"Why is it such a big deal?" I asked.

"Well, Brandon's been jerk to girls since like forever" Bloom started. "No one really knows why, but apparently if you get into a fight with him, he will _ruin_ you"

"Yeah, he finds out your weakness and then uses that to destroy you" Musa added.

"He must have some dark history then" I said.

"Yep, but you'll survive because you have us. And if he tries to do anything, Musa has whipped cream and rubber ducks in her bag" Bloom said.

"Rubber ducks?" I asked.

"For throwing at a guy's balls" she said.

"Ouch" I laughed.

"What up people" A guy said, taking a seat opposite me. He had sea green eyes, dirty blonde hair and tan skin, and was pretty good looking if you asked me.

"Stella, meet Liam. Liam, meet Stella" Bloom said.

"Wait, Stella as in the new student who roasted Brandon this morning?" he asked.

"Yup" I nodded.

 _Damn, why is is that big of a deal?_

I mean, it's as if I was the first ever person in this school to talk back to him - well except Musa of course.

"You can call him Mustard by the way" Musa said.

"That was one time Muse, ONE TIME!" he huffed.

"What was one time?" I asked.

"Well, one day we were eating at Burger King and he accidentally spilt mustard on his shirt, and then this old woman who was probably off her meds saw him and started running around yelling 'Mustard Boy'. We couldn't stop laughing for like 3 hours. Ever since then we nicknamed him Mustard." Bloom said.

"Or you can call him Lia, Lee Lee, Lima bean, whatever floats your boat" Musa said.

"I'll stick with Liam" I said.

"Thank you" he said, glaring at Musa.

"So Stella, how exactly did you wind up here?" Liam asked.

"Well, I used to live in Miami with my parents, but after they divorced I stayed with my dad there. After a year, they decided it would 'beneficial' for me to live with my mom and her boyfriend here in Gardenia" I said.

"Something tells me you don't really like your mom's new guy" Bloom said.

"I only met him yesterday, so I'm still trying to figure him out. But we're cool for now because he's a good cook and always gets pizza. Like _always_." I said.

"You're making me hungry" Musa pouted.

"But you're eating already..." Bloom said.

"I know, but she's still making me hungry" she shrugged.

* * *

"Which way do you live?" Bloom asked, as we walked out of school.

"That way, like near the park" I said, pointing to the road which I was going to walk home by.

"You do? I live down there too, I'll walk with you" Liam said.

"I'll text you later" Musa said, as she walked off with Bloom in the opposite direction.

"Okay bye" I said, as I started to walk with him.

"You know, you look kinda familiar" I said, examining his face.

"I do? Maybe you've seen my parents, they're like wilderness explorers and they made a documentary about rare hybrids like ligers and zorses and zonkeys" he said.

"Yeah probably. Your parents sound awesome though" I said.

"Yep, but they're in Madagascar for a 1 year expedition, so I live with my cousin and his parents. I wanted to come with them, but they were all 'you can't miss your education' and that" he said.

We continued to talk a bit more, until we reached his house.

"So, I'll see ya tomorow?" he asked.

"Yeah...wait. What is _he_ doing here?" I said, as Brandon walked towards us.

"I live here. What are _you_ doing here" he asked.

"Hold up. You live with your cousin. And Brandon is your cousin. And you live here?" I asked.

"Correct" Liam said.

"That means-"

"Hey, Stel. Your mom told me to tell you lunch is in the fridge, and that she's working night shifts all week, and I have practice so I'll see you tomorow?" Angelo said, as he walked out the door with a duffel bag.

"Okay thanks" I said.

"Bye kid" he said, ruffling my hair before getting into his car.

"You live like right next door? Thats dope" Liam said.

"Dude what the fuck is wrong with you, how can that possibly be a good thing" Brandon groaned.

"Shut up, she's right in front of you" Liam said, shoving him into the door.

"Oh joy" I said sarcastically.

 _This war is gonna be a lot harder than I thought..._

* * *

 **Soo, how was that? It's still Christmas where I live (20 mins till midnight), so this story is like a present for you all ㈳4. I have tons of ideas for this story so I'll try updating asap. Remember to review ;P**


	2. Bets, Broken Walls and Food Fights

**Hey guys, TYSM for all the sweet reviews, I'm really glad you guys are liking it. Most of the drama happens after they end up together and so I think this is gonna be one long ass story, probably like 30 chapters or more lol.**

* * *

 **StellaBrella: Thank you, and ik she's creative af. Btw you have to update Twisted Love soooon lol.**

 **FashionStyle02: Thanks :3**

 **Pickles333: Thank you and I love your new story, it's hilarious.**

 **Niru: Sure, since theres only Bloom and Musa in this story there'll probably be a bit of them too.**

 **alsasiya: Aw TY ;)**

 **xxVictorious4everxx: Yup, and he's not the only one with secrets. Stella has some too, involving her parents divorce and the move to Gardenia, but when the time comes they'll open up to** **each other.**

 **Guest (Dec 26): Thanks, hope you enjoy it.**

 **iradfs: TY :P**

 **Guest (Dec 26): Update is here xD**

 **BitchRoyalty: Yep, and everything will be revealed when he finally opens up to her.**

 **Guest (Dec 26): Thanksss, & the dark secrets are all gonna be unveiled soon :P**

 **Stella Love Sunshine: TYSM and you slay harder than this story girl XD And yes, Brandy is gonna get hella confused with his emotions and well...you'll see ;)**

 **ColorfulMusic: Thanks youuuu and omg I'm so predictable, aye? Hopefully the actual secrets aren't too predictable and there are a couple of them so I'm hoping they'll be a bit of a shocker. And yes there'll probably be MxR anyways.**

 **SolariaPride: Its okay and thanks babe :P Btw you gotta start those Brella and Joe Sugg and Vamps stories soon I'm waiting haha.**

 **shreyamishra1232: Thanks :)**

 **J-deep: Thanks, and your questions will be answered as you read on :P**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V.**

Are you kidding me?

Why out of all the people in Gardenia did my mom have to live next to _him_?

I've only known him for what, 8 hours, and I already despise him!

"Well I'm gonna go take care of that before he throws a bloody desk chair at the window or something" Liam said.

"Good luck" I said, walking into the house and going straight to my room.

At the moment my room was still empty, no colour, no decoration, no furniture - well except for my bed. I had everything ordered last night but I haven't done anything to it since I had no time, so I decided to fix it up. I went back downstairs and there were boxes near the door, so I dragged them up the stairs one by one.

"This would be way more fun with music" I said to myself, as I turned on my macbook and played my Spotify playlist. I started sticking some of my posters up, which included Jason Derulo, pretty much all the PLL ones, which is a LOT, and random posters of food, more specifically, my bae - pizza.

After a bit or interior decorating, I opened the last boxes, which where shelves and stuff, and I had a enormous white faux fur cloud couch downstairs too, which was when I realised...

"Shit, I don't know how to assemble furniture" I groaned.

 _Maybe I should call Musa and Bloom?_

But I don't wanna trouble them, I mean they are my friends but I kinda just met them..

Suddenly, my phone started to ring, making me jump. I picked it up, and it was Bloom. Coincidence?

"Hello?"

 **"Hey, what you up to?"**

"Well I'm redecorating, or at least trying to. I have no idea how to assemble shelves, and I can't drag a huge ass couch up the stairs on my own"

 **"Oh, well Musa's just chilling at my house and raiding my pantry, so how about we come over and help you?"**

"Really?"

 **"Yeah, text me your address and we'll be there in 10"**

* * *

"PULL IT FROM THE _OTHER_ SIDE MUSA!" Bloom screamed, as we tried to drag the huge box up the stairs. Bloom and I were pushing it from the bottom and Musa was pulling it from the top.

"OKAY OKAY IM TRYING!" she said, as we made it to the next step.

"Damn you guys are stronger than you look" I said, as we finally got it up.

"Thanks, now to open this box" Bloom said, as we ripped the tape off revealing my couch beanbag thingy.

"Oh my god, its so freaking fluffy" I squealed, as we took it out and placed it near an empty wall.

"What do we do next?" Musa asked.

"How about we put the TV up? Theres a tool box in the kitchen right next to the stove, can you get it?" I asked.

"Yeah sure" Bloom said, as she went downstairs.

"Where should we put it?" I aksed.

"Right there" Musa said, as she pointed to the middle of the wall from a distance.

"Okay I'm just gonna mark it it so we coul- wait a minute" I paused.

"What?" she asked.

"Turn off the music" I said, putting my ear next to the wall.

No way.

I could literally hear Brandon playing some video game - probably GTA - in his room. I can't believe it, our rooms are LITERALLY next door to each other!

"Are those gunshots?" Musa asked.

She could hear it from the other side of the room?

"From a video game, yeah" I said.

"Dude could you move out the way, I'm trying to focus here" a slightly muffled voice yelled.

"Fine, I'l take my lasagne elsewhere" some one said, sounding just like Liam.

"Liam?" I yelled, knocking on the wall.

"Stella? Are you knocking?" he yelled back, pissing Brandon off on purpose.

"What the fuck Liam MOVE!" Brandon yelled.

"No way, you live next door the guy?!" Musa said, dropping her bag of cheetos and sprinting to me, as Bloom finally came back.

"Why are you guys banging on the wall, what did it ever do to you?" she scoffed.

"She lives next door to jackass" Musa said.

"Well then, we said we'd help you win this war, so thats what we're gonna do" Bloom smirked, turning the music back on but this time extremely loud as _What do you mean_ by JB blasted out of the speakers

"3...2...1.." Musa counted.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? OOOH, WHEN YOU NOD YOUR HEAD YES BUT YOU WANNA SAY NO WHAT DO YOU MEAN? HEEEY WHEN YOU DON'T WANT ME TO MOVE BUT YOU TELL ME TO GO WHAT DO YOU MEAN? WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" we all sang - or screamed- along.

Literally 5 seconds later, someone was banging on the door furiously, like pounding on it.

I went downstairs and opened it only to see a very angry Brandon.

"Yes?" I grinned.

"What the-"

"OH I REALLY WANNA KNOW, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Musa yelled, still singing along to the music as she skipped outside and joined me, which aggravated him even more since she was invading his personal space and singing in his face.

"For _gods_ _sake_ , shut up. I'm trying to concentrate, but how am I supposed to do that when your stupid music is-"

"You guys wanna come over I just made Churros" Liam interrupted, shoving past Brandon.

"No they can't _come over,_ I-"

"You gotta try them, his churros are the BEST" Bloom interrupted, grabbing my hand as she pushed right past him.

They literally dragged me into Brandon's house, which was pretty awkward since, you know, I hate him.

"Musa, Bloom nice to see you again" a lady said. I was assuming she was Brandon's mom, and she had tan skin, chocolate brown eyes and dark brown hair with auburn highlights which was in a ponytail. She looked almost identical to Brandon, like you would mistake her as his sister or something.

"And who is this?" She said, looking at me.

"I'm Stella Solaria, nice to meet you" I smiled shaking her hand.

"Wait, are you Luna's daughter?" she asked.

"Yup" I said.

"She's told me all about you, you just got here, right?" she grinned.

"Yeah" I said.

"And I presume you've met my nephew and son?" she asked, as I took a seat.

"Yes she has now can you please leave the poor girl alone so we can all eat?" Liam said.

"As you wish, just tel me if you need anything" she smiled, as she left the room.

"Behold" Liam said, putting a plate of churros and a Nutella jar on the coffee table.

"Let Stella try one first" Bloom said, dipping one in Nutella and giving it to me.

"Why are you all staring at me?" I aksed.

"Just eat it, we wanna see your reaction" Musa said.

"Well okay then, but I don't get what could be so good abou- _Holy shit_ " I said, as I bit into it.

"See, told you" Liam said.

"Hey why don't we bring these back to Stella's house and you can help us assemble those shelves. We need a man to help us anyways" Bloom said.

"Man? Psshh, this squirt's only a boy" Musa said, ruffling his hair.

"Hey, I can assemble furniture...unless it's Ikea because that shits confusing as fuck" he said.

"Well its not, so lets go" I said, as we left and went back to my house, again.

* * *

"More to the left" Musa said, as Liam slowly moved a couple steps to the left. I was trying to screw some nails into the wall to hold the stand thing for the TV. Unfortunately we didn't have a ladder, so Liam was carrying me on his shoulders...or at least trying to.

"Stop shaking!" Bloom said, attempting to help him stand upright.

"Nah, a bit to the right" Musa said.

"You may not look it but you weigh a ton" he said, trying not to fall over.

"Blame the ice cream" I shrugged.

"Okay, perfect, right there" Musa said.

"Don't impale your hand" Bloom said, as I drilled a couple holes.

"Okay, done. You can let me dow- ouch" I said, as he accidentally dropped me.

"You need to start working out" Bloom said to him, helping me up.

"I'll put the TV up there, you go do the shelves and don't break anything" Musa said, as she dragged a chair next to the wall and stood on it.

"Why didn't I think of that" I sighed.

After about an hour or so, we finished everything and watched TV for a bit and then they all left.

I got a bit hungry, and I went to the kitchen to reheat the pizza that my mom left in the fridge. As I was walking out, I bumped into a huge column right next to the door.

"God fucking damn it I swear that thing wasn't there before" I exclaimed, rubbing my head.

 _Wow, getting mad at inanimate objects again Stel?_

"I'll get used to this house sooner or later" I sighed to myself.

* * *

 **1 month later..**

"What took you so long?" Liam asked, as I finally walked out the door and slammed it behind me.

Yup, everyday we walk to school together every day. We have a rule of leaving at 7:30, which is 20 minutes before Brandon leaves the house, since he takes his car.

"I was getting a granola bar" I shrugged, as we started to walk down the road.

"So, did you study for that Maths test?" he asked.

 _Shit, totally forgot._

"Uh, yeah.." I lied. He looked at me with straight face, obviously not convinced.

"But the Keeping up with the Kardashians vacation special was on!" I whined.

"Come on Stel, you flunked the last one and you said you'd study for this one" he said.

"I know, but I can't help it. I tried, but I couldn't understand a thing!" I groaned.

"Maybe you might learn something if you didn't sit next to Musa" he chuckled.

"I'd still fail" I said.

"True. Anyways, we still on for that bet?" he asked.

"I'm gonna win" I sang playfully swinging my arm around his shoulder.

"No you're not" he said in the same tone.

What is this bet you ask?

Well, Musa and Riven always have these arguments and 'break up', but get back together with in week or two. It's been ages since they've had one, and each time they get faster to get back together. The other day, Musa got mad at him and he guessed they'd be back together in 3 days, and I said 1, which is today. So if they aren't civil to each other by the end of the day, I owe him a bag of Hershey kisses, and if they are then visa versa.

Yup - just for a little bag of chocolate, its a regular thing for us.

"We'll see at lunch then" I said, as we reached school.

"Fine, but no cheating, which includes you convincing her that she's getting mad for no reason and all that." he said, as he walked off.

"STELLA! GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT, GUESS WHAT!" Musa screamed, sprinting to me as she shoved her way through the corridor.

"What?" I laughed.

"I had to deliver some papers to teachers and I saw the test paper, and we're so gonna ace that test! I revised _all_ those topics." she squealed.

"You're cheating your way through?" Bloom asked, joining us.

"No, I didn't see any answers, I just saw the questions. Doesn't count" she said, as the bell rang.

"Well I gotta go dissect a sheep's heart in biology, see you guys later" Bloom shuddered.

"Bye" I said, as Musa and I walked to Maths and sat down.

"Now class, to prevent any cheating, copying or talking, I'm going to move you all. And these are going to be your permanent spots from now on" the teacher said, as a seating plan showed up on the interactive whiteboard.

I was still in the same place, but Musa was on the other side of the freaking classroom! And replacing her was...

Brandon?!

"SIR!" Brandon and I shouted simultaneously.

"I can't sit next to blondie!" he said.

"I'm not sitting anywhere near that jackass!" I yelled.

The whole class went silent as soon as the both of us started yelling. You see, the whole bloody school knows about our feud and since teenagers love a good fight, we're kinda known in that sense. I mean, Brandon's popular because he's like super smart and all that, but I think it's just stupid that a jerk like him gets that much attention.

"Don't you start shit with me" he said, narrowing his eyes at me.

"Boy, Imma start whatever I want with you, you don't scare me" I retorted.

"Enough, both of you sit down" the teacher said, as he handed out the tests.

 _Shit, what am I supposed to do without Musa?_

"Okay, you have the whole lesson to finish, and don't worry, this won't be going on your report card, this test is just a progress test. Now, begin" he said.

I sighed in irritation as I looked at the first page.

 _A line with a gradient of 1 passes through the points (-8, -4) and (6, k). What is the value of K?_

What the hell is a gradient?

Ugh, this is bullshit...

"Having trouble?" Brandon smirked, as he whizzed through his test.

"Shut up" I said through clenched teeth.

"I expected it, I mean, fits the dumb blonde stereotype..." he whispered.

 _Fight me bitch. Fucking fight me._

No Stella, don't make a scene...no matter how bad you want to knock his teeth out and strangle him to death.

"You know, I could get used to this, watching you miserably fail" he said.

"I swear to god, if you don't shut up I will-"

"Will what? Incase you forgot, I'm like twice the size of you" he said.

 _Good point._

"I told you, I'm not scared of you." I said.

"Whatever your say" he scoffed.

I rolled my eyes and looked back at my paper. I flicked through the page and legit understood NOTHING.

Okay maybe I did like 5 or 6 questions, but thats out of 35.

 _I'm gonna fail this class._

All of a sudden, the bell rang, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Class dismissed" the teacher said, as everyone grabbed their bags and rushed out.

"I aced that test" Musa grinned.

"I flopped" I frowned.

"Come on, I'm sure you got something right" she said.

"Nah, I probably didn't. Why does maths have to be compulsory?" I said.

"Because teachers are annoying like that. I'll see you at lunch, kay?" she said, as she continued going up the stairs to Art.

"Okay" I said, as I headed towards the science lab.

"Put up a bit of a fight back in class huh?" Riven said, as he took his seat next to me.

I'm actually good friends with Brandon's friends, because unlike him they're actually approachable and gentlemanly.

"He's lucky I haven't burnt his dick off yet" I said.

"Ouch" he chuckled.

"So, have you and Musa worked things out yet?" I asked.

What? Liam said I couldn't talk to _Musa_ , but he never said I couldn't talk to Riven...

"You think a bouquet of chocolate roses would do the trick?" he asked.

"You can't just buy her forgiveness" I said.

"Oh yeah? What would you do if a hot guy bought you a stack of pizzas?" he asked.

"Marry the guy on the spot. On second thought, the bouquet of chocolate works fine. When are you gonna give it to her?" I asked.

"Lunch, our usual table" he said.

"I'll be there" I smirked. To get those Hershey's from Liam that is...

"Okay, we'll be doing a practical today so get into groups of three. These groups will be your groups for the whole year for the project we're doing" the teacher said.

I immediately looked at Sky and Riven and as soon as Sky came over to sit next to us, I came face to face with Brandon.

"What do you think your doing? They're in _my_ group" he said.

"No they're not they're in my group!" I said.

"They're my best friends so they're working with me" he said.

"Well they're dating my best friends which practically makes them my brothers in law, so you can go work with someone else because I'm not moving" I said.

"Oh yeah?" he said.

"Yeah" I said, crossing my arms. Suddenly, I was literally shoved off my chair, which was now occupied by Brandon.

"Hey, get the fuck off my chair!" I said, trying to push him.

Sky and Riven looked at each other worriedly. "Maybe we should just-"

"Stella, Brandon. What is it this time?" the teacher asked.

"Miss Adams, he stole my group" I said.

"No I didn't" Brandon said.

"Yes you did!"

"No I di-"

"Okay thats enough" she sighed. "You can work in a group of four"

"WHAT?! ME...WITH _HIM_? FOR THE WHOLE YEAR?" I exclaimed.

"I'll be in the staff room if you need me" she said, walking out before things got even more heated if that was possible.

"Look what you did now, little shit" Brandon said.

"Shut up asshole, this is your fault" I said.

"Guys can we just get on with this?" Riven said, slumping down in his chair.

"I'll start since the both of you working together is a major risk to our safety" Sky said, as he cleared the table and put out some flasks filled with different chemicals and liquids.

"Okay line them up by PH and put the potassium in the water first" I said.

"What are you talking about, you put it in the hydrochloric acid." Brandon said.

"No you don't, potassium is the most reactive and if you put it in the acid it's gonna blow up into flames" I said.

"Yeah right." he said, picking up a small piece of potassium.

"I suggest you move back" I whispered to Sky and Riven.

"See, nothing hap- HOLY SHIT" Brandon said, literally squishing me against the wall as he jumped back.

"Get off of me jackass" I groaned, pushing him away.

"Which one next?" Riven asked.

"Calcium in water" I said.

"Which one is it?" Sky said, looking at the pieces of metal.

"Its this one" I said, picking it up and putting it in the water, causing it to fizz up and turn cloudy.

"How'd you know that? They all look the same" Brandon said.

"Calcium is lustrous, soft and really lightweight, and is the only one there that matches up with the properties" I said.

"When did she get so smart?" Riven asked.

"Just because I'm shit at maths doesn't mean I'm bad at everything. And Science is like my favourite subject anyways" I said.

"Really? I thought it was lunch." Sky said.

"That too" I shrugged, as I wrote down the results.

"Oh look, Brandy's upset Stella proved him wrong, who's the dumbass now?" a girl said, walking past as she noticed his moody expression.

 _Yup, people in this class are keeping scores and shit._

"I'm sure he's just jealous I stole his friends" I smirked.

"Or is he jealous his friends stole _you?_ " she winked.

She thinks he's jealous of Sky and Riven? Oh please.

"Ew okay thats enough Mandy" I said, as she walked away giggling.

* * *

"Hurry up Bloom, we need to get to the Cafeteria before Riven!" I said, grabbing her hand as I dragged her though the corridors.

"Why?" she asked.

"I need to be there to watch Liam's face when I prove him wrong" I said, as we got to the doors of the cafeteria.

"You guys made another bet on how long it's gonna take Musa and Riven to patch up? Isn't it getting old?" she asked, as we sat down.

"Nope" I grinned, as Musa and Liam made their way to or table.

"Wipe that grin off your face Stel, it's not like he's gonna come over here and-" Liam started, but got interrupted by Riven, who had a long speech about how he was sorry for taking Musa's gummy bears.

Yup, that's the reason she got mad. Normally it would be bigger things like cheating accusations and stuff - _which by the way was never true in the first place_ \- but now it was these smaller fights were mainly about food and Riven's cat. Don't ask.

"You promise not to steal my food ever again?" Musa asked.

"Promise. And I got you this" he said, showing her the chocolates, which immediately made her face light up.

"Aw, I love you" she said, hugging him.

"Ha! Suck on that!" I exclaimed, jumping up from my seat.

"That's not fair, you probably cheated" he pouted.

"No I didn't, now where are those Hershey's kisses at?" I asked.

"Here you go" he said, kissing my cheek and then bolting off.

"HEY COME BACK THAT DOESN'T COUNT!" I yelled.

"Relax Stella, you'll get it eventually. You want some?" Musa asked, offering me a piece of chocolate.

"Hell yeah" I grinned.

"How come she gets some but I don't?" Riven asked.

"You gave the gift, duh" she said, causing him to frown. "Just kidding, here"

"Be right back I'm gonna get a can of lemonade" I said, getting up. As I turned around, I bumped into someone, making us both fall on the floor.

And it just had to be the Asshole?

"Be fucking careful, idiot" Brandon said, sitting down.

Yeah, unfortunately he sits on the same table as me since his friends sit here.

"Who are you calling an idiot?" I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Enough with the sass talk already, like you can actually do anything" he scoffed.

 _The nerve of this boy..._

Before I knew it, my dumbass decided it was wise to follow my even _dumber_ instinct, which was to grab the water bottle next to me and pour it on him. He instantly stood up, soaking wet, and legit _everyone_ in the cafeteria was staring at me. He took a second to register what had just happened and glanced down to his white shirt, which was now drenched and quite see through.

 _Not too bad a view to be honest, I mean those defined abs and-_

No. I did not just...no. Nope. Nuh uh.

"Are you kidding me?" he said, glaring at me.

"I don't 'kid', Shields" I said, putting my hands on my hips.

 _Score 1 for Stella._

"This isn't gonna end well.." Bloom sighed.

"Wheres my popcorn at?" Musa asked as she watched excitedly, as if we were gonna start a fight or something.

"You're gonna regret that" he scowled.

"Oh yeah sure" I laughed sarcastically, examining my nails.

Suddenly, my shirt was covered in pasta sauce, and there was a long silence, until someone yelled 'food fight'. I was still standing there while food was flying all around the room.

"Oh no you didn't" I said, clenching my fist.

"Yo I'm back with your stupid Hersh- oh geez" Liam said, as he walked back in.

"Oh yes I did" Brandon said, mocking my tone.

"I am going to KILL YOU!" I screamed, as my calm tone went to an angry one. I literally pounced on him like a jaguar which caught him off guard and I was about to swing a punch when someone grabbed my arms and held me back.

"Stella calm down, you're gonna cause a scene" Liam said, holding onto both my arms as if he was arresting me or something.

"A little too late for that" Sky said, pointing at the students going wild and the crazy food fight.

"Not helping!" Bloom said, nudging him.

"Let me go! Let me at him!" I said, trying to struggle out of his grip.

"I would but I ain't a traitor and I gotta be fair to the both of you. Which means I can't let you rip him apart" Liam said.

"I say let her go. I mean, the little fucker deserves it. And if you need help I'm here" Musa shrugged, putting her feet up on the table casually.

"Don't encourage her!" Bloom said.

His grip slowly loosened as he got distracted by flying mac and cheese and I used it to my advantage as I quickly pulled away and tackled Brandon to the floor, punching him in square in the nose with all the strength I had.

 _Damn that felt good._

Even though he was twice as strong as me, I wasn't afraid of him. I mean, he's a guy so if he gets too close you simply aim for the nuts and run for your life.

Since it all happened so fast, he didn't do a very good job defending himself and certainly didn't fight back, probably because I'm a girl and he'd get into way more trouble than me.

"WOOHOO! THATS MA GIRL, GO JOHN CENA ON HIM! NO, GO DEAN AMBROSE ON HIM, USE A FUCKING CHAIR!" Musa yelled.

"Get her off me!" Brandon said, trying not to get attacked by my fist again, which, by the way, was really hurting.

"Break it up Stel!" Riven said, as he and Sky and pulled me off him.

"Dude you're bleeding" Sky said, as Brandon wiped his nose, which was dripping with a crimson liquid.

"Why'd you let her go?" Bloom scolded at Liam, hitting him on the head while he was clearly holding in his laughter.

"It wasn't on purpose I swear! I'm only a _boy_ " Liam said, referring to what Musa would always say.

Suddenly, the whole room went silent.

"What on earth is going on here?!"

* * *

"This is all your fault!" Brandon whispered.

"I wanna kick you in the fucking throat" I hissed.

We were both currently in the principal's office, and we didn't even get a chance to go to the medical room so my fist was swelling up and Brandon's face was oozing with blood. To be honest, we both looked absolutely ratchet, my hair was all over the place and so was his, and our clothes were soaked in cafeteria food.

"You guys look terrible" Miss Elliot, our principal, said, walking in and taking a seat behind her desk. Miss Elliot was actually a very chill, calm principal and wasn't all that strict. Since she was young, she understood a teenager's mindset and knew exactly how to handle situations without yelling and shouting.

"Thanks" Brandon sighed sarcastically, grabbing a tissue from the box on her desk to wipe his face.

"Now, you both understand why you're here, right?" she said.

"yes ma'am" we both said, as he grabbed another tissue.

"Well you know I don't normally like to punish you guys but I have to stress the fact tha-"

"Sorry" Brandon said as he took another.

"Just take the whole thing" she said, chucking the box at him.

"Anyways. This is the _fourth_ time you've gotten yourselves in trouble with me and caused a riot." she said.

She wasn't wrong, we've gotten in trouble loads of times with many different teachers, and only a couple of them were as serious as this.

"I'm sorry miss but he started it" I said.

"No I didn't you're the one who poured water onto me first"

"Yeah because you kept cussing at me!"

"Yeah well maybe if you watched your step for once and stopped bumping into me then-"

"Guys, stop it. Can you not just get along?" she asked.

"With him? Never gonna happen" I said, crossing my arms.

"Normally when a guy and girl act like they hate each other it's because they're secretly madly in love with each other" she mumbled under her breath, but loud enough so we could hear.

"BLEUGH!" we both yelled at the same time, literally coughing and gagging.

 _I don't know if Brandon was exaggerating, but I definitely wasn't._

"Teenagers" she chuckled.

"But seriously, you guys need to stop fighting so much. At least control your arguments in class? I mean, it's seriously affecting your record and all I want is for you two to succeed and get into a good university. You've got the grades and academically, you're very good, but behaviour wise, you're not so good. And if this behaviour continues, your records will look like the criminal record of a mass murderer, and you definitely won't be able to achieve your goals" she said.

"Yes miss" I said.

"Unfortunately, you two will still have to receive a punishment, and I know a detention won't cut it. So you'll be spending tomorrow at school cleaning up the cafeteria" she said.

"But tomorrow's Saturday!" Brandon said.

"I know." she said.

"Can't we just serve detention?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but someone has to clean it, and since you guys are pretty much the cause of the food fight, it makes sense. Just make sure there are no arguments, and please don't get into a fight. You won't be supervised since I won't be in tomorrow, but the receptionists will, and you will have to get the equipment from the janitors closet. Be there at 9 am and check in at the reception" she said.

"When will we be dismissed?" Brandon asked.

"Whenever you finish" she said. "You'll be kept in until 7pm and if you don't finish by then, you'll come back on Sunday"

"Ugh" I groaned.

"Now, I'll make sure your parents are aware of this, and you two better get to Medical before my office turns into a crime scene" she said, as we stood up.

"Bye Miss" I said, as we both left the room. We walked the empty corridors in silence and kept a good distance between us.

"My my, you kids got in a fight again?" the nurse said, as we sat down in the Medical room.

"Yeah" we both said.

"Elizabeth can you please help him with his bloody nose while I help Stella here" she said, calling the other nurse over.

"Now, except from the tiny scratch near your cheek, did you get injured anywhere else?" she asked.

"My fist hurts, and my knuckles are going numb" I said, showing her my hand.

"Oh dear, well the boy clearly has a strong face" she said, examining it.

"Is it broken?" I asked.

"I don't know, we might need to get an x-ray though. Do you feel dizzy or sick sweetie?" she asked.

"Now that you mentioned it, yeah, a bit" I said. For some reason, they had an X-ray machine in school, and they checked my hand.

"You haven't got any broken bones but you did sprain it, so I'll put on a bandage and you'll be good. First keep this ice pack on it prevent any swelling and rest your hand" she said.

"Don't put any pressure on your hand and rest it for 48 hours. If it hurst too much, take some painkillers, and if it doesn't get better go to the doctor, okay?" she said, wrapping the bandage around.

"Okay, thanks" I said.

* * *

"Can I sign it?" Musa asked, looking at my hand.

"What? It's a bandage not a cast Muse" I laughed.

"Okay okay whatever. See you tomorow?" she said.

"Nah, I have to clean the cafeteria with stupid Brandon" I groaned.

"Good luck. And don't beat him up because I don't want you to get hurt again" she said.

"I won't even look at him, trust me" I said.

"Good, see ya" she said.

"Bye" I said, as I walked off with Liam.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"Duh" I said.

"How the heck did you manage to sprain it though?" he said.

"He has a strong face I guess" I shrugged.

"Aw, poor Stellie" he said, hugging me from the side.

"You still owe me Hershey's kisses. And I mean the chocolate" I said.

"I keep my word" he said, grabbing them from his pocket and giving them to me.

"I know tha- Mom? Why are you loading the car?" I asked, as we reached my house.

"Oh, hey sweetie. Angelo's got an national game in NYC and we're gonna take a trip there for 2 weeks, and then he has to go to New Jersey, then Michigan, so we'll be gone for about a month. I know it's last minute but-"

"It's fine mom, really. I get it" I said.

"You sure you'll you be okay home alone?" she asked.

"Yeah yeah" I said.

"Okay, if you need anything just ask Ms Shields, and- oh god what did you do to your hand?" she aksed, noticing my bandage.

"Um..." I mumbled, looking at Liam for help.

"She kinda punched Brandon in the face and sprained it" he said.

"Right, I got a voicemail from the principal, and I heard about your punishment tomorrow. Promise me you'll stay out of trouble?" she said, putting her hands on my shoulders.

"Promise" I said.

"Honey could keep an eye on her for me? Can't trust this child alone at school let alone at home" she said to Liam.

"Don't worry, I'll keep her under control" he said.

"Oh, and NO alcohol, drugs, clubbing, or boys. Except for Liam" she said.

"Mom" I groaned rolling my eyes.

"Good. Now we'll be leaving in an hour" she smiled, going back in the house.

"Talk to you later?" I said.

"Pizza, Oreos and Movie night at yours" he said.

"You know it" I said, walking into my house. I jogged up the stairs and threw my bag down, then sat down on my beanbag thing and switched on my TV as I ate the hershey kisses. I could hear a bit of yelling next door - probably Brandon again, but I just ignored it.

Literally 2 seconds later, I heard a huge bang on the wall and a fist - yes, a fist - came through the wall, causing it to crack. Most of the wall literally collapsed, and Brandon's room was fully visible to me. There wasn't any separation and it was like one big room and, I was screaming my head off.

 _Well what would you do if your wall crumbled down?_

"WHAT THE FUCK BRANDON ARE YOU MAD?! YOU BROKE THE BLOODY WALL DOWNT!" I screamed. Liam was there with a controller in his hand, and his jaw dropped at the sight.

"Oh shit" Brandon cursed under his breath, as his eyes grew wide and realisation dawned on him.

I walked closer to the wall and glared at him, wanting to bitch slap the shit out of him.

 _No Stella, you messed up one hand, you're gonna mess up the other._

"You are something else" I muttered, as I ran downstairs to get my mom.

She wasn't there, but Angelo was still in the kitchen.

"Hey Stella, your mom just went to the grocery store to get some food for you" he said, sipping on his coffee.

"Yeah, um, theres something you need to see" I said.

"What is it?" he asked, following me up the stairs.

"Brandon, lo que está mal con usted?!" Brandon's mom exclaimed.

Yep, she's spanish, and his dad's American so he's half half.

"This" I said. Angelo had the exact same reaction as Liam, just speechless.

"Mr Davis I am _so_ sorry, is Luna here?" his mom asked.

"Hey Stella, you know how to use the microwave, righ- Oh my _god_ what the heck happened?" My mom said, as she entered my room.

"This idiota broke down the wall somehow" his mom said, rolling her eyes. "We've got insurance so we'll get it fixed as soon as possible, I am so sorry darling, first he sprains your hand then breaks your wall"

"Mom I didn't sprain her hand, _she_ threw the punch! I didn't even touch her!" Brandon said.

"I'll call the insurance company" Angelo said.

* * *

"I'm sorry ma'am, its gonna take at least a week and we can't have any one in these two rooms, and even in a different room, she can't stay home alone while construction is going on." the guy said, taking notes as the other one made phone calls.

Everyone was currently in my room, and by everyone I mean me, my Mom, Angelo, Brandon's parents, Brandon, Liam, and 3 business guys. One of them was talking to my mom while everyone else was either scolding Brandon, freaking out or taking videos on snapchat.

Yes, that was Liam taking advantage of the current situation.

"Stella, you can stay in the guest room of our house while Brandon can share Liam's room. It's the least we could do. And I know you guys don't really get along, but I will make sure Brandon behaves." his mom said, glaring at Brandon who looked kinda guilty.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it Ms Shields" I smiled.

"Please, call me Isabel" she said.

"I still don't get how you hurt your hand by punching him but he breaks a wall down and is fine" Liam said.

"It's a pretty weak wall" I shrugged. "And get that phone out of my face this isn't an interview!"

"Kanye West much?" he said.

"We need to get going, are you gonna be okay?" My mom asked.

"Yeah don't worry I'll be fine" I said hugging her.

"Okay then, bye" she said, going downstairs with Angelo.

"We're still on for movie night, right?" Liam asked.

"Yup" I said.

"You guys make me sick" Brandon groaned.

"Why?" I scoffed.

"He's jealous" Liam said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No I'm not, I don't get how I'm related to such a fool" he said.

"He's just kidding, he loves me" Liam said cockily.

"Stella why don't you come inside, I'll get dinner ready for you all" Isabel said.

"Okay, I'll just get my stuff" I said, as the others left. I grabbed a week's worth of clothes, snacks, my toothbrush, my laptop and you know, stuff that I need to survive, and shoved it all into a bag.

* * *

"So, what movie do you wanna watch later?" Liam asked, as we sat down at the dinner table.

"I don't know, it's your turn to choose" I shrugged.

"Okay, how about-"

"Nope. We're not going to watch Monsters inc for the 9th time in a row. I don't care how much you love Mike Wazowski on a personal level" I said.

"How did you know I was gonna say that?" he whined.

"I'm psychic. We're watching 22 jump street and thats final" I said.

"But I thought you said this week it was my turn to- never mind, since Brandon broke down your wall, I guess it's fair" he said.

"Its my wall too!" Brandon said.

"Well it's not my fault you broke it. I mean, why did you decide to beat the wall in the first place, what has it ever done to you?" I said.

"None of your business blondie" he snapped.

"Brandon be nice" Isabel said, as she put the food down on the table.

"So, how long do you two have to be at school for?" she asked.

"Depends how long it takes us to clean. Possibly till 7" I said.

"Till SEVEN?! What on earth did you do to make that big of a mess" she asked.

"We didn't make the mess, all the other students did" Brandon said.

"Then why are you two being blamed for it?" she asked.

"Well, I only came in when the food fight started so I don't know" Liam said.

"I bumped into him by _accident_ , he cursed at me aggressively, I dropped water on him, he threw pasta on me, and then some kid yelled food fight and we got blamed" I said.

"It wasn't accident, and I didn't curse at you, stop making up lies!" Brandon said.

"I'm not making up lies!" I screeched.

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you ar-"

"Will you two ever stop?" Isabel sighed.

After dinner, and a fair amount of bickering, I went up to the guest room, which was my room for the next 2 weeks or so, and unpacked my stuff. I changed into an adidas white crop top and a pair dark grey joggers. As I was tying my hair up in a messy bun, I heard a knock on the door.

"Coming" I said.

"I got the pizza" Liam said, entering my room with a box of fresh pizza in his hand and cans of soda on the top as he slammed the door shut behind him with his leg.

"Be careful, you're gonna end up breaking another wall" I laughed, setting the food down on the bedside table. I switched my macbook on and turned off the lights as the movie started playing.

Now, I would've just dragged my TV over somehow, but I couldn't do that. You wanna know why?

Because it got smashed into pieces. Yup, it was hanging on that wall, so now I gotta get a new TV. And new posters. And new shelves. And a new lamp.

"Dude make it louder I can barely hear a thing" Liam said.

"You're getting old so fast, is that a grey hair?" I chuckled, making the volume higher.

"My hairs perfectly fine thank you, and anyways, your older than me so you can't say anything" he said.

"Yeah by like a month?" I said. "Besides, just coz you're younger doesn't mean that you're gonna age slower or anything, well maybe, but it depends on the-"

Suddenly he stuffed a slice of pizza in my mouth, muffling my words.

I guess thats a hint that I need to shut up and enjoy the movie?

"Sometimes you just gotta shut the hell up and enjoy the movie" he sighed, sipping on a soda.

Yup, I was right.

* * *

"Stell? Oi, wake up!"

I fluttered my eyes open, looking around only to see a box of pizza at the end of the bed, along with empty soda cans and my laptop, and Liam right next to me.

"Shit, we fell asleep in the middle of the movie?" I groaned.

"Hey, at least you got to sleep in a comfortable position. I fell asleep sitting up and when I woke up, you were taking up the whole bed" he said, rubbing his back and whining like a baby.

"Wait a minute...what time is it?" I asked.

"8:50, why?" he said.

"Oh shit" I mumbled, as I hopped out of bed and sped to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and put on some perfume and then ran out again and put on a pair of white converse, as I had no time to change out of my PJs.

Don't judge me, desperate times call for desperate measures...

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier, stupid?! I'm gonna get late and that cranky woman at the reception is gonna kill me. I swear when I get back I will murder your ass" I said, tying my laces hurriedly.

"Well sorry but I don't get up early on weekends" he shrugged. "And why are you rushing, you got a court meeting or something?"

"Bitch I got a cafeteria to clean up and I have 7 fucking minutes to get to school" I said, rushing around to get my phone.

"That was today? I thought it was next Saturday" he said.

"Well its not" I said.

"You're gonna get late" he sang.

"Bye" I yelled, sprinting to the door and rushing out.

To my surprise, Brandon's matte black range rover was still in the driveway, and he was waiting in the drivers seat.

"Get in!" he said, rolling down the window.

"With you? No way" I said.

"Do you wanna get an extra day of punishment?" he asked.

"Ugh fine" I said, quickly opening the door and getting in.

"Why did you even-"

"Wait for you? Believe me I did NOT want to, but my mom forced me to wait for you and your slow ass" he said, staring up the engine.

"Hey! I am _not_ slow. I just woke up late. In fact, I got ready in like 2 minutes" I said.

"I can see that" he scoffed.

"Shut up. And can you go faster we're gonna get late!" I said.

"I ain't gonna get a ticket for speeding" he said, stopping at a red light.

"Fudge, 3 minutes until 9. Mrs Benson is gonna kill us" I groaned, putting my hands in my head.

"Wait, Mrs Benson as in the grumpy old hag at the reception who always exaggerates and will tell Miss Elliot we came like 4 hours late?" he asked.

"Duh" I said.

"Oh shit we're dead." he said, literally crushing the gas pedal as soon as the light flashed green.

A minute later, we got to the car park and when we got out the car he literally left me there while he bolted to the door.

"So now you care about punctuality?" I panted, running behind him.

"Hurry up you fucking sloth" he said.

"Excuse me?" I said, as I finally got to the doors.

"You two here to clean up the cafeteria?" the lady at the desk said.

"Yup" he said.

"I'll inform the principal you're here, and you can get your equipment from the janitors closet" she said, handing us the keys.

"Here, now don't talk to me for the next 5 or so hours" he said, handing me a mop, bucket, spray and a sponge.

"Yeah that'll be a challenge" I muttered sarcastically under my breath, as I walked into the extremely messy cafeteria and started cleaning the opposite side of Brandon, so we could be as far away from each other as possible.

Only 20 minutes through, I was tired. I mean, it's like these people were throwing food made out of sharpies because I'm telling you that shit was _impossible_ to get off.

After those failed attempts, I ditched scrubbing the tables and decided to mop. Only problem was, I had one working hand..

"Ugh, this dumb thing keeps slippi- WOAH" I said to myself, before I fell over after accidentally pushing the mop too hard since I held it with one hand and slid on the wet floor.

"Can you get any more stupid?" Brandon said, smacking his forehead.

"Can you get any more rude?" I grumbled, getting up.

"Damn, you can't even use a mop properly" he laughed.

"You find that funny? You'll find this even funnier" I smirked, getting the spray and spritzing his face. He suddenly started choking, which made me burst into fits of laughter.

"What the fuck is that?" he said, rubbing his face frantically.

"It's just water you whimp, I'm not getting a lawsuit for burning your face with acid no matter how much I want to" I said.

"Yeah sure, like you'd really want to ruin this masterpiece" he said.

"You? Masterpiece? It's not April fools yet, idiot" I snickered.

"You're one to talk, lookin like a llama on crack" he said.

My mouth swung open and I dropped the mop on the floor, making a loud thud noise.

"First of all, I am _not_ on drugs, never have been and never will be. And second, llamas slay your entire existence so shut it" I said, going back to scraping lasagne off the walls since I wasn't gonna bother with the mop.

I guess he ran out of insults since he just walked away and continued to clean. About 5 hours later, yup - FOUR hours, the place was looking pretty good. All the tables were spotless, I single handedly mopped, scrubbed and glossed the whole floor, and all the windows, walls, columns and things were clean, and well, I did a pretty good job if i say so myself.

If you're wondering, the jackass was extremely lazy and decided to make me do everything, like I predicted, so he just wiped 8 tables out of like 60 and then sat down and played Minecraft on his phone. And no, before you jump to conclusions, I wasn't fine with it. I did pretty much everything in my power to get him off his ass but it didn't work, which included throwing cloths and sponges at his face, whacking him with a broom and much, much more.

"DONE! HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH" I yelled, literally fainting into a chair.

"Thanks to my hard work" He said, putting his phone in his pocket and getting up.

"Don't you start with me" I said, glaring at him, before I left. On the way, the lady at the reception kept nagging us to go back and clean some dishes in the kitchen and literally locked the entrance, so we had no choice. We both unwillingly walked back to the kitchen area behind the cafeteria where they cook the food and there were 2 huge sinks with at least 10 dishes in each one.

"Thats not so bad I guess" I said, as I turned the tap on.

"Why can't this broke ass school get a dishwasher" Brandon groaned, standing in front of the sink. I guess this time round he decided to do something since he started cleaning.

Like 5 minutes later, he randomly burst into laughter, like out of nowhere.

"What? What's so funny?" I asked. He calmed down a bit and as soon as he looked at my face he started laughing again.

"Y-your...face.." he said in between laughter.

Instead of wondering what was so humorous about my face, I was more astonished at the fact he as laughing. It wasn't like before were he laughs at me failing at life and his stupid insults, but he look...happy? Like, genuinely happy.

 _It looked kinda cute on him too..._

Fuck.

Oh _no_ you didn't girl.

I mentally kicked myself in the face for thinking that. I mean, I hate him, right?

"What do you mean, my face?" I said, looking taken aback.

"No I mean, like look in the mirror" he said. I raised a brown and turned around, looking at the huge metallic fridge which was so shiny you could see your reflection.

"Oh my god" I said, staring at my face which was covered in soap. Somehow, I managed to give myself a bubble moustache...typical Stella.

Before I knew it, I started laughing too. I couldn't help it, I mean he had a valid reason to laugh. I decided to take advantage of the situation and grabbed some foam from the sink, and chucked it at him, halting his laughter.

"Ew you got it in my mouth Stella" he said, coughing.

"Holy guacamole" I said.

"What?" he asked.

"You called me Stella" I said.

"And?" He asked.

"You normally call me blondie, klutz, idiot, stupid..."

"I get the point" he said.

"Next thing you know you'll be falling in love with me" I snickered.

STELLA FUCKING SOLARIA.

 _You did **not** just flirt with the enemy._

 _YOU. CROSSED. THE. MOTHER. EFFING. LINE._

"Pretty sure it's the other way round" he said.

"Yeah right" I scoffed.

"Then why are you blushing?" he smirked.

"I'm not blushing, dickhead. I'd rather vote for Trump than fall for you" I said.

"Whatever you say, _blondie_ " he said, wiping his face with a cloth.

After about 2 minutes, we were all done and the woman finally let us out of hell. Did I say hell? I meant school, sorry.

I walked up to Brandon's car and tried to open the door but it was locked.

"What are you doing?" he aksed, rolling down the window.

"What do you mean? I'm tryna get in, duh?" I said.

"Did I say I'm giving you a ride?" he said.

"Your mom did" I said.

"Correction, she said a ride to school, never said anything bout getting back, so if it's not too much trouble, could you let go of the door?" he said.

"Oh so you're just gonna leave me here?" I asked.

"Have a nice walk" he smiled, driving off.

Now he's back to asshole mode?

Great. Just great. Now I have to walk all the way home.

And yes, I know it's only a 10 minute walk but still, he fucking left me here.

I rolled my eyes and dialled Musa's number. Why not have an ice cream date with the squad, since there's a Baskin Robbins only like 5 minutes away?

 **"What up?"** Musa yelled through the phone.

"Why are you yelling?"

 **"I'm at Riven's house and Sky and Riven are playing GTA at full volume, and the poor cat is hiding under the couch."** she said, as gunshots and guys screaming in victory went on in the background.

"You wanna go get ice cream? The jerk ditched me and I'm not not bothered to go home"

 **"Yeah, can the guys come? I can't trust them home alone...with Macy"** she said.

Yup, Musa cares alot about Macy, Riven's cat. Again, it's a long story.

"Sure, can you call Liam too? My battery's about to die"

 **"Kay, meet you there in 5"** she said, ending the call.

* * *

"So how was cleaning the cafeteria?" Bloom asked, as we sat down at a table for 6.

"Exhausting to say the least - especially since I have one unusable hand" I sighed, digging into my ice cream.

"Did you find my ketchup mark?" Musa asked.

"Yeah, I cleaned it too" I said.

"What do you mean ketchup mark?" Liam asked.

"I wrote my name on my chair with ketchup. I did everyone else's too, and I did yours with...wait for it...Mustard" Musa said, laughing at her own joke.

"Oh wow" Liam said, rolling his eyes.

"So why did Brandon have to give you a ride? Doesn't Angelo have a car?" Riven asked.

"He had a game in NY so he went there with mom for a couple weeks. And, well, how do I put this? Brandon broke down my wall so now I temporarily live with them" I said.

"How did he break a wall?" Sky asked.

"With his fist" I said.

"Oh. I pictured him swinging on a wrecking ball, licking a sledgehammer half naked...boy do I crack myself up" Musa said.

"Ew thanks for the imagery Muse, now my brain hurts" Bloom said.

"Nice outfit by the way" Riven said.

"Don't judge me I had no time because this- Oh my god, I totally forgot" I said.

"Forgot what?" Liam asked.

"Forgot to murder your ass for waking me up so late" I said, hitting Liam with a spoon straight from my ice cream.

"Ewww my hair's all sticky" he whined.

"You're such a girl" Musa scoffed.

"You wanna know the feeling of wet ice cream in your hair?" Liam said, holding a spoon over her head.

"Hey, that's enough you guys. We don't wanna cause another food fight" Bloom said.

"CAN WE GET SOME MORE WHIPPED CREAM UP IN HERE?" Riven yelled to the waitress.

"Dude no need to yell she's like right there" Sky said.

"Hey, Stel, you wanna know how to get extra ice cream?" Musa whispered.

"Sure?" I shrugged.

"Watch and learn" she smirked.

"Babe, come here" she said, leaning in to kiss Riven. Just when the time was right, she quickly licked his ice cream while he was distracted.

"You're so mean" he pouted.

"You guys are so adorable" I said.

"Poor Stellie's third wheeling, we really gotta get you a boyfriend" Bloom giggled.

"I already have 2 loyal guys, who are fine as fuck" I said.

"Who?" she asked.

"Ben and Jerry's, duh" I said.

"Why was I expecting that?" Musa said.

"But for real, I'd marry pizza if I could. I'd probably eat it though 2 seconds later though..." I said.

"She's crazy" Liam said.

"And you're jelly" I said.

"Of what, your empty ice cream cup?" he asked. I glanced down and realised that my cup was indeed empty, and I was just eating from an empty spoon for the past 5 minutes.

"Nice try, but I'm stuffed" I said.

"Already? You didn't even have breakfast or lunch, and it's almost 3" Bloom said.

"I know, it's probably all junk food from last night" I said.

"We should get going, my aunt's gonna think you went missing or something" Liam said.

"You didn't tell her you were coming here with me?" I asked.

"Didn't have time" he shrugged.

"Well I have a sociology project to be doing, so I'll see you all Monday?" Musa said.

"Yeah, bye" Bloom said, as we parted our ways

* * *

 **Okay I you all hate me bcoz this chap was super late but I had tons of homework to do, and on top of that my chapters wouldn't save or upload, but it's all good now. I hope this 10k+ chapter satisfied y'all, btw do you like long chapters like these? Or are they just boring? xD I'm also still working on the next chap for BB but I was focusing on this one, and that chapters like the ultimate showdown in the Omega Dimension with Acheron, the Trix, and some old villains who you thought were gone for good :P Oh and shoutout to StellaBrella for distracting me even further with our 1k+ PMs about PLL and pizza, we will continue once this is up haha.**

 **Love you all, remember to review** ㈵6


	3. Parties and Kittens

**Hey guys! I don't have much to say except TYSM for all the reviews, ily all. Aaand that Chapter of BB is probably coming after this one, a bit later than i said but it will be up soon, I promise. Just was quite busy this week, so I'll continue writing the chapter later but for now, y'all got this :P (PS - Ik you guys like long chapters sooo I'll try to make this one about 6k or more)**

 **Pickles333: Yass girl I love it. And thank youuu ㈵6**

 **StellaBrella: He's is that annoying friend who snapchats everything...I don't know about you but I have a friend like that, and I can barely call that girl my friend lol. And same for you, I'll distract you anytime you want haha.**

 **The Dreamer With A Passion : Thanks, its a pretty weak wall lol. And I like your new pen name :P**

 **shreyamishra1232: I've recently updated it and the next update is coming soon.**

 **SolariaPride: Thanks, and I've read the Joe Sugg one. So far, it's amazing xx**

 **ss: Update is here :)**

 **iradfs: Yup, hopefully there'll be more.**

 **Guest (Jan 12): Updatinggg**

 **cuphole: I know right? I was wondering if it was too much xD**

 **StarStyleSunshine: Thank youuuuuu and yes I hate them too :P**

 **alsasiya: Thank you :3**

 **wildlife1103: Haha, hope you had an amazing vacation, I'm glad you're enjoying it.**

 **ColorfulMusic: Thank you and yeah, cliffhangers are good for suspense and all but only if its updated like IMMEDIATELY. Otherwise they just make you wonder what's gonna happen and leave you dying to read on.**

 **Stella Love Sunshine: THANK YOUUU I APPRECIATE THE CAPITALS XD And yeah, even though Liam is more like a brother to her, Brandy is still jelly of him being so close with her xD**

 **Guest43: Yeah, soon there'll be Brandon's POV for sure.**

 **Guest (Jan 21): Updating rn ;)**

 **solarian: Well then wait no longer, the chapter is here :P**

 **S: Thanks, I'll try to get this up as soon as I can :)**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V.**

"Can't keep my hands to myself" Musa sang to the beat. "I want it all, no nothing else"

"Could you keep it down? I'm tryna cram some last minute revision into my head" Liam complained, scanning his textbook.

"Give me your all and nothing else" she sang, ignoring his comment. "Oh, I want it all, I want it all, I want it all...can't keep my hands to myself..."

"I mean I could but why would I want to?" I smirked, sining my favourite line, before both of us started going crazy as the beat dropped.

"YOU GUYS!" Liam whined, slamming his face onto the desk.

We were currently in Liam's room, annoying the heck out of him. I mean, what better thing to do on a Sunday night than annoy your friend?

"Calm down dude, it's only like nine" she said.

"Yeah well that's not an issue for people who don't have a huge Chemistry test first period on a Monday morning and still need to get 6 hours of sleep when they have 3 hours worth of revision to do!" he said.

"Why are you even worried? I thought you aced Chemistry?" I asked.

"Still!" he said.

"Okay okay, we'll leave you in peace" Musa said, grabbing her iPod as we left and went back to my room.

"What do you wanna do now?" she asked, slumping down on to the bed.

"Sleep?" I asked.

"Netflix first" she said.

"I'll grab the popcorn" I smiled.

"I'll make myself comfortable" she said, as I walked out of the room.

You're probably wondering what the heck is going on here. Well, I kinda convinced Musa to stay the night because living with Liam and Brandon is harder than you think. Like, they're guys, what do you expect?

And yes, I'm aware it's a school night, but I used the power of pizza to bribe her so it's all good.

As I sped down the stairs and made a left turn to the kitchen, I almost bumped into Brandon, who had a plate of hot cheesy nachos in his hand. Luckily, my awesome reflexes kicked in, causing me to dodge him swiftly, saving me from being covered in boiling hot cheese.

Just kidding - I'm the clumsiest person you'll ever meet, I just got lucky this time.

"Damn, slow down!" he snapped.

I rolled my eyes and reached out to get a chip, but he swatted my hand away.

"Ow!" I shrieked.

"Hands off blondie" he said, shoving past me.

"Greedy" I mumbled under my breath, as I got the microwavable popcorn out of the pantry and threw it in the microwave. I grabbed a bowl and placed it on the table as I hopped up onto the counter and waited.

All of a sudden, my ringtone went off as my phone violently vibrated in my pocket, making me jump. I answered it straight away without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

 **"Hey sweetie"**

"Mom!"

 **"How are you? Are you being good? Did you get in to any trouble?"**

"No mom, relax. I'm fine, and I'm behaving perfectly"

 **"Are you sure? Can I speak to Isabel?"**

"Okay but I'm telling you, I'm completely innocent" I said, walking into the living room to give the phone to Brandon's mom.

"Isabel, my mom wants to talk to you" I said, handing the phone to her.

I started walking back up the stairs, but then I remembered...

"The popcorn - oh _shit_!" I muttered, running back down and sprinting to the kitchen. I immediately opened the microwave, and the popcorn was done. Any longer, and it would've exploded. I opened the bag and put it in the bowl, then went back upstairs to see my laptop already on and the latest PLL episode about to play.

"Just in time" Musa said, as I sat down next to her.

* * *

"Psst! Stel! Wake up!" someone whispered. I let out a loud yawn and turned over to see Musa on her phone lurking on Instagram.

"It's Monday, ugh." I groaned.

"I know right" she said, scrunching up her nose.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"6:15" she said.

"Well I'm gonna lay in bed for the next half an hour" I whispered, snuggling into the duvet.

"I'm kidding its like 7" she said.

"You gave me false hope?!" I said, as my eyes shot open.

"Brandon's mom is making pancakes" she shrugged.

"Well what are we waiting for? Get ready, I want to enjoy those pancakes on the couch, not eat them next to my locker at school" I said, getting out of bed.

"I'm gonna check if Liam's awake. How much you wanna bet the little nerd fell asleep studying?" Musa asked.

"Aw, he's not a nerd Muse. He's just extremely worried about not getting into that higher Chem with all those hot girls, you know him" I laughed.

"HOLY SHIT" Liam suddenly yelled from the other room.

"Why is he shouting, it's only 7?" I said.

"Yeah, I know. I changed his phone time to an hour forward" Musa shrugged.

"Well I'm gonna go tell him before he gets a heart attack" I said, walking to his room.

"Why you still here Stel?" Liam asked, rushing around to find a shirt in the huge pile of laundry in his closet.

"This is why you should never invite Musa over" I said, grabbing his phone and changing it back.

"What? You mean I have like half an hour? God I hate you guys" he said.

"We love you too. And hurry up before those pancakes run out" I grinned, walking to the bathroom.

After I got ready, I went downstairs and joined Musa at the table.

"Morning Stella. You sure you guys don't want me to convince Brandon to give you a ride to school?" Isabel asked.

"It's fine, really. And anyways, it's not like he's is gonna let me anywhere near his precious little car" I mumbled, digging into my food.

"Can I get 3 litres of coffee pronto?" Liam said, stumbling into the kitchen like a drunk mess, but instead of being wasted, he was just half asleep.

"How late did you stay up last night?" Isabel said.

"Like...until half past 3, but it's gonna pay off" he yawned.

"You mean when you fall asleep in the middle of class?" Musa asked.

"Nah, I'll be drinking caffeine the whole lesson" he said, sliding on the bar stool.

"They don't let you drink coffee in class" I laughed.

"So? I'll sneak it in" he shrugged.

"Hey, I don't wanna hear another complaint about you soaking school textbooks in Mocha Frappuccinos, okay?" Isabel warned.

"Fine, but I'm still gonna ace that test, you'll see" he said.

"So anyways, Bloom just got a new kitten called Meredith and since she's going to Venice with her family for spring break, she needs someone to kittysit" Musa said.

"BLOOMY GOT A CAT AND DIDN'T TELL ME?!" I squealed, spitting my juice everywhere. "Oh god, so sorry Isabel"

"It's fine sweetie, I was gonna mop anyway" she said.

"She posted like a million pics, didn't you see them?" Musa asked.

"No, I haven't checked social media for a bit actually" I said, whipping out my phone.

"AWWW HOLY SCHNITZEL SHE HAS LITTLE THUMBS!" I screamed in a baby voice at the overload of cuteness of the picture, which was of a tiny ginger and white munchkin cat with big jade eyes.

You see, I have this thing with small, cute creatures. I mean who doesn't?

"Damn girl, remind me never to get you a pet for your birthday" Musa scoffed.

"Honey be careful I just mopp-" Isabel started, but got interrupted by the loud thump of Brandon slipping and hitting the floor.

"And you call _me_ clumsy" I said.

"Shut it blondie" he growled, getting up.

"Back to the point" Musa said, clearing her throat. "She called me this morning and-"

"And?" I asked.

"And she asked if you would be alright with keeping her at your house but-"

"But?!" I asked.

"Let me finish! She said that I have to supervise you so that you don't feed her candy or give into her adorableness" she said.

"Why would I feed a cat candy?" I asked.

"Because your a retard like that" Brandon scoffed.

My mouth suddenly swung open.

"Oh no you didn't" I said, glaring at him.

"I think it would be best if you lot get going now" Isabel said, before anything could escalate.

"Yeah, I gotta finish revising" Liam said, attempting to stretch but instead just falling off his chair. "My freaking back"

"Lets go" I sighed, grabbing his arm and dragging him upright.

* * *

"Stel are you sure you can handle it?" Bloom asked.

"3 weeks is nothing, trust me. We're gonna watch Netflix together and have jam sessions together and eat pizza together-"

"Dude, you're trusting _her_ to look after a cat you've only had for a couple days?" Musa asked, stuffing her face with Doritos in uncertainty.

"I'm fine with it as long as you do the pizza eating, not her. Meredith needs to be fed 3 times a day, and don't give her treats too often" Bloom said.

"I got it, just _trust_ me Bloom" I said.

"We'll talk about it later, I gotta go to class, see you guys at lunch" Bloom said, disappearing the sea of students as the bell rang.

"What you got?" I asked.

"PE, I gotta go throw golfballs at the team, catch you later" Musa said, waving around her humungous bag of balls.

"Have fun" I yelled, as I made my way to my next class, Chemistry.

"Sup Stel" Sky said, playing with the flasks.

"The ceiling" I joked.

Yes, I'm aware my jokes are more outdated than that mouldy cheese in the back of your fridge, but I can't help it, okay?

"Where'd the teacher go?" Riven asked.

"She fled the classroom when Brandon walked in. You know, him and Stella in the same classroom, not a good idea..." Sky said, turning my attention to the devil himself, who was standing at the door.

"What are we even supposed to be doing?" I asked.

"She said do the questions on the board and continue with the experiment part of the project for this week" he said.

"Move over" Brandon muttered pushing me out of the way.

"Someone's on their time of the month, huh?" I mumbled to the others, who were trying to not burst into laughter.

"Says the bipolar bitch herself" he said.

"Excuse me? I am SO NOT bipolar!" I screamed, catching everyone's attention.

"Only two seconds ago you were all happy, and now you're angry, so do the math...if your mentally capable that is" he sniggered.

He did _not_ just go there.

"Oh so you wanna talk about mental abilities now, something YOU clearly don't have" I hissed.

"Coming from the blonde herself" he said.

In the heat of the moment, I couldn't really think of a good enough comeback so I grabbed the nearest spray bottle and spritzed away, but it didn't seem to be causing him any pain.

"That's water" Riven whispered.

"Dang it, I though I picked up the lemon juice" I pouted.

As soon I tuned my head, I felt my shirt soak up. I looked back and saw Brandon with a spray bottle of his own, and it soon escalated into a very hasty water fight.

"Miss Elliot 6 o'clock!" A girl suddenly shrieked, standing at the door.

"I wanna choke you with glass" I growled, as my hair cascaded down from my ponytail after Brandon literally snipped my hairband. He was aiming for my hair, and man if those scissors cut a single hair on my head, the boy wouldn't be alive at his moment.

"She's going to fucking murder you guys" Sky said, snatching both of our weapons - or lab equipments rather - then putting them away hurriedly.

Everyone suddenly went back to where they were sitting and got back to whatever they were doing, leaving Brandon and I in the middle of the room sopping wet.

"SHIT" we both yelled simultaneously as realisation dawned on us, looking at each other in desperation.

"She's gonna skin us alive" I gulped, wringing my hair out like it was a shirt.

"Now _that_ is the understatement of the century" Brandon, wiping the table with a cloth and making everything look as neat and normal as possible.

"She's coming!" some girl whispered.

"And that is how to get a reaction out of an alkali metal" I smiled sweetly, as I dumped the piece of metal in the glass tube. "Oh hi miss Elliot"

"Morning Stella...is there a reason the both of you are drenched?" she asked, walking closer as I trembled under her glare.

"Um, the rain?" Brandon said. My palm flew to my forehead and made a slapping sound so loud you could hear in down in Australia.

 _Rain? This is California, fucking moron. Its 80 freaking degrees out._

And he calls _me_ the dumbass...

"He means, um, we both just...had a little accident with the water fountain, you know, you should get that thing checked Miss" I said, thinking of something.

"Water fountain huh? No violence?"

"Nope"

"No fights?"

"Nope"

"No _water_ fights?"

"Miss, I'm offended to say the least. How could you accuse me of such _childish_ behaviour? I'm a completely innocent student, I assure you" Brandon said dramatically.

"I'm sure you are" she said, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, I came here to get a couple students. Blake, Austin, Riven and Sky, you're all needed for football practice"

Oh god..she's gonna take them. leaving _me_...alone...with _him_.

Fuck my life.

Why can't stupid Brandon get on the team too? I mean he used to, but he quit around the time he became all mean and antisocial.

"Stay out of trouble" she said, before leaving the room.

"Please don't blow each other up" Sky said, as the both of them left.

* * *

"MUSA! COME BACK HERE! I'M NOT DONE YELLING YET!" Liam screeched at the top of his lugs, as Musa skipped around laughing her ass off.

 _Why_ you ask?

Well, it's currently lunch, and we were in the hallways on our way to the cafeteria, and she kinda set up this date for him with a girl, who he had a low key crush on, named Becky. He was supposed to meet her in the janitors closet - gross, I know - but when he got there, the girl waiting for him wasn't Becky, it was Natalie - a freshman who was kind of insane to say the least. So long story short, she tricked him and now he's super pissed.

"Girl, you should've seen his face when that girl started to lean in to kiss him, it was priceless" She giggled.

"How did you kno what it looked like?" I asked.

"I put a little camera on the shelf and watched the whole thing on my phone!" she said, as she suddenly lost balance and fell on the floor, still dying of laughter.

"ITS NOT FUNNY!" he whined. "SHE WAS ALL UP IN MY FACE AND DESPERATELY NEEDS A BREATH MINT"

"Now now, don't talk about your _girlfriend_ like that" I smirked.

"She's not my girlfriend" he said, clenching his fist so hard that the pack of skittles in his hand exploded.

"YOUNG MAN! CLEAN THIS MESS UP IMMEDIATELY!" A teacher snapped, noticing the rainbow on the floor.

"I can't, I just can't. This is all too much" Musa cried, busting into another fit off giggles as she watched him roll his eyes and unwillingly pick up each and every skittle.

"Stel please make her stop" he groaned.

"Musa, stop annoying him" I said, trying to keep a straight face, but I soon bursted into laughter too.

"That's the last time I'm trusting you and your 'notes'. I mean, how the heck did I fall for it? Your handwriting is totally different to hers and-"

"Okay okay stop whining, I'm sorry. But you gotta admit it was pretty funny" Musa said, as Liam finally finished picking them up and joined us.

"Whatever. Change of subject, I have something to tell you guys" Liam said, looking around before he took some paper out of his bag.

"I failed my Chemistry test" he sighed, passing me the paper, which had an F in the corner.

"WHAT?! Liam Tyler Anderson!" I exclaimed.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU MANAGE TO FAIL YOU STUDIED ALMOST ALL FREAKING NIGHT BOY!" Musa screamed, shaking his shoulders.

"SIKE! I got an A+" he smirked, ripping off the F, which was apparently a sticker, revealing the real score.

"You fucking scared me" Musa muttered, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Aww, she does care" Liam teased.

"So you didn't fail?" I asked.

"Nope, luckily I had my coffee too keep me up" he said.

"How'd you sneak coffee in?" I asked.

"I put it in one of those coloured water bottle. Damn, those teachers are so clueless you could literally sneak in red wine and get away with it" he said.

"Remind me never to drink from his bottle again" Musa said.

"So, I take it you got an exam in Chemistry too?" Liam asked, grabbing an apple as we stood in the lunch que.

"Nah, we're getting our grades based on this dumb projects we're doing" I said.

"Lucky" he said.

"Not if your stuck in the same group as Jackass" I said.

"That boy thinks he's so smart and shit, but no one can ever beat this nerd in Science" Musa said, swinging her arm around my shoulder.

"Hey! I'm not a nerd, I just like Science that's all." I shrugged.

"Surprising how Maths and Science are so related yet you suck at one of them and ace the other" Liam said.

"Yeah well you don't get blow things up in Math, now do you?" I said, as we sat down on our usual table.

"So what happened anyways? Did you blow him up? Did you pour acid on his face?" Musa asked.

"Nope, but we had a water fight and then almost got caught by Miss. She bought my excuses but she's hella suspicious" I said.

"I told you they sold those pudding cups!" Sky said, sitting down as Bloom and Riven trailed behind them.

"Whatever dude, I didn't say anything" Riven shrugged, putting his hands up in defence.

"Don't ask" Bloom said, noticing our confused expressions.

* * *

"You kids sure you're okay here alone?" Isabel asked.

"We'll be fine mom, you guys go ahead" Brandon said.

"If you need anything just call me or ask Liam, okay sweetie?" she said.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright" I said.

"Okay, we'll be back Tuesday the latest, bye!" she said, as Brandon's parents both walked out the door.

Now, you're probably confused as heck. Well it's Friday and Brandon's parents had a last minute business trip to attend, so they're gone for the weekend. Yup, all our parents are out of town.

"Pizza?" Liam asked.

"Duh" I smiled, snatching my phone from the table and calling Dominos.

"Hey, can I get a large Hawaiian pizza and one large pizza with pepperoni, olives, jalapeños and stuffed crust please?" I asked. "You want anything Brandon?"

 _Fine then, blank me._

"Also, could I get a bottle of Sprite and a bottle Fanta. Okay thanks" I said, ending the call.

"They'll be here in an hour max" I said.

"What do you want to do till then?" Liam asked, laying down on the couch.

"Theres condoms in the bathroom cupboard if you need them" Brandon scoffed, looking at his phone.

"You're so dirty minded" I said, rolling my eyes as I chucked a cushion at his face.

"Oh shit" Liam said, getting up suddenly.

"What now?" I asked.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"5, why?" I asked.

"I have a dentist appointment at 5:15, totally forgot. Brandon imma use your car" he said, running to the kitchen to get the keys.

"But you drive recklessly, you didn't even pass your driving test!" Brandon said.

"Yes I did, on the 10th try" Liam said.

"Just don't scratch my baby or it's your life on the line bro" he said.

"Hey wait you're leaving me alone with _him_?!" I exclaimed.

"You'll manage, I'll be back in time for pizza okay bye!" he said, rushing out and slamming the door.

Since I had nothing better to do, i went up to my room and went on my phone for a bit, and somehow fell asleep. About 30 minutes later, I woke up to extremely loud music blasting through the house, the smell of beer and alcohol lingering around the place, and the chitter chatter of at least 100 people.

No. Fucking. Way.

THIS ASSHOLE THREW A PARTY?! INTERRUPTING MY NAP TIME?!

Now before you skip to conclusions, let me get this straight. Yes, Brandon is known for being a rude jerk, so it's kinda unbelievable people would actually turn up, but he's also famous for hosting the wildest parties, and when he throws one, EVERYONE comes.

I rubbed my eyes, and got up, walking to towards the door.

Thank god I locked it. If I didn't, I'd wake up to a drunk couple doing _it_ in my room. Vile, I know.

For some weird reason, I looked down at my outfit, which was a pair of black nike skinny sweats, a dark grey cropped hoodie and white converse. Good enough. I mean, it _was_ a party and there were like dozens of people outside.

Coming to think of it, I've never been to one of Brandon's epic parties, but I had no choice this time.

I opened my door and closed it behind me, then jogged downstairs past the crowd of people chilling on the stairs, and entered the living room.

Now, I expected beer pong and couples making out everywhere and all that, but I guess thats just college parties. There were lights everywhere and people in the middle of the room jamming out to the music as if they were on a dance floor. Well, I can't blame them, the music's pretty good. I mean, Brandon's music taste isn't that bad.

 _Stel, you're supposed to be scolding the jerk not praising him!_

My face went back to an angry one, and I marched straight up to the party host himself, who was chugging down a bottle of beer in the kitchen.

"Explain this!" I said.

"Well well gorgeous, I see you've joined the party" he smirked.

"You little shi- wait, _what_ did you call me?" I asked.

"Gorgeous. You look hot when you dress chill like that, you should do it more often" he said.

"First of all, I _always_ wear sweatpants so I do it often anyways, second, yes I know I look hot, and third - what the actual fuck is wrong with you? Are you drunk? No, even drunk Brandon wouldn't say something like that - it must be drugs. What are you on, meth, cocaine, marijuana, crack? I swear to god, if you get me arrested I will legit murd-"

"Shush, you talk too much" he chuckled, getting closer, until he eventually cornered me against the wall.

"Dude I'm not playing, you better stop" I said.

He totally ignored what I said, and just stared at me with curiosity in his eyes, until they landed on my lips.

Hell. to. the. no.

I felt his hot minty breath fanning on my neck and before I knew it, we were literally millimetres apart.

What the actual fuck is going on?

Is he about to-... _no, he wouldn't dare._.

I noticed his arms were on the wall, near either side of my head, and I quickly used the chance to slide underneath his arm and make a run for it. I pushed through the energetic yet wasted teenagers, while the strong smell of alcohol bombarded my senses and made me shudder. I headed straight for the front door, and as soon as I reached fresh air, I knocked into someone.

"Stella? What's going on?"

"LIAM OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW" I screamed, hugging him.

"Brandon throwing a party again?" he sighed.

"Not only that, he was being nice to me. Like waaayy too nice to me" I said, scrunching my nose up in disgust.

"No way. He tried to hit on you?" he asked.

"No I never said that why would you think that?" I said.

"It's so obvious, I mean only something like _that_ would scare you to the extent of admitting your love for me" he said.

"Shut up" I said, hitting his shoulder.

"Anyways, theres no stopping one of these parties if drunk Brandon is in charge. It'll go on until like 3 or 4 am, so we'll just have to stay in your room till then" he said.

"You're kidding" I said.

"Nope, I have no control over it. We'll just watch movies and eat pizza until we fall asleep." he said.

"Whatever, if they deliver it to the door these bitches will steal it so we can wait for it round the corner." I said, as we walked down the road.

After about 5 minutes, the pizza came and we went back inside, trying not to get attacked by the chaotic mob of people.

"Hey can I have a slice?" some drunk girl slurred, winking at Liam.

"It's poisoned, we're throwing it out" I said, as we walked up the stairs.

"Poisoned my ass" she laughed.

"It's your choice, I mean if you want to puke for 3 hours straight that badly then go ahead" I smiled.

"I'll pass" she said.

"Poisoned? Really?" Liam whispered, as we entered my room, and I locked the door behind me.

"I blanked, then thought of Mean Girls 2, but hey it worked" I shrugged, as we dug in.

After a couple movies, we went to sleep, or at least tried to, but the party was still going on

"Liam?" I yawned.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"I can't sleep" I said.

"Neither can I" he said.

"Ugh why does Brandon have to play his stupid music, my head is pounding, and I didn't even drink!" I exclaimed, looking at the time, which read 4:27 am. "Plus, it's really cold since my duvet covers are in the laundry"

"Theres a couple blankets downstairs. Come on" he said, opening the door. To my surprise, the house was completely empty, but the lights were all on. Red cups, bottle, packets of chips and empty soda cans were scattered all over the place, and no people - thank god.

When we got downstairs, Liam turned the music off and made sure all the doors and windows were locked, while I go the blankets.

"Some party host" Liam scoffed, pointing to Brandon, who was currently passed out on the couch.

"That lazy hog better clean all of this up himself, no matter how bad the hangover is" I said.

"Trust me, he will, since we're both technically guests" he said, as we went back upstairs.

"I'm gonna go back to my room, night Stel" Liam yawned.

"Night" I said, as I got into bed.

"YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME" Liam yelled from the other room, before running back into my room.

"I am so not sleeping in that room, some moron spilled gatorade all over my bed, topped off with toilet paper and silly string. Like why that combination anyways?" he said.

"Shut up and go to sleep before my head bursts" I groaned, moving up and making space for him.

"I know, you'd much rather it be Brandon next you" he said.

"Eww never in a million years" I shrieked, literally pushing him off.

"Okay okay I'll stop.

* * *

 _"Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days,_  
 _When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out._  
 _Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days,_  
 _When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out."_

The little line of sunshine peeking out of the gap of the closed curtains hit my eye as I let out a yawn and stretched my arms out.

 _Why is music still playing?_

I looked over and saw Liam was gone, then figured out he was probably downstairs, and so I got up and went downstairs too. I walked into the kitchen, where he was making waffles and sining along to the music - really badly though, like Brandon. I guess it runs in their genes, huh?

"Morning" I said, sitting on the barstool. "What up with the waffles?"

"I don't know, I was feeling it" he shrugged.

I looked around and the place was pretty much spotless.

"Hey, what happened to the party aftermath?" I asked.

"Oh I cleaned it all up." he said.

"Seriously? You're _way_ too nice to the asshole. Where is he anyway?" I asked. He pointed at the couch with his spatula, where Brandon was STILL sleeping.

"It's almost 12, he probably knocked out around 2, we went to sleep at 5am, yet we wake up earlier" I said.

"He better pay me for all this hard work" Liam said, turning off the stove as he topped off the waffles with whipped cream, berries and chocolate sauce.

"Yum" I grinned, as I picked up a piece. Just as I was about to eat it, someone's head swooped in and literally ate it off my fork.

"Hey!" I said, looking over to see Brandon, who was finally awake. "You're lucky I'm hungry, otherwise I'd throw this at your face"

"Go ahead Blondie, I can do much worse than waffles" he said, glancing at the hose outside.

 _At least he's back to normal..._

"You owe me 50 for cleaning up your mess" Liam said casually.

"Knock yourself out" Brandon said, rolling his eyes as he pulled out a 50 dollar bill from his pocket and gave it to him.

I'm not even gonna question why the guy keeps 50 bucks in his pocket at all times..

"So anyways, you would not believe what happened to me yesterday at the dentist" Liam started. Oh no, he's about to begin ranting agian, and once it starts, in never stops.

Like _never_.

"So this bitch, what was her name, Madison? Margaret? Maggie? Oh you know what fuck her name, lets call her dipshit. Okay so dipshit was tryna cut in front of me in line for the soda machine, then when I told her I was first, she started busting out facts about how wearing contact lenses gives you cancer, which is totally irrelevant, ya know? So I had no other choice but to stuff a coffee cup in her mouth to make that woman shut the hell up, and being the responsible teenager I am, I-"

"I'd love to hear more but I have to go to Bloom's house and meet her Kitty" I said.

"Yeah me too" Brandon said.

"Uh, since when?" I asked.

"Since you invited me?" he said.

"I never invited you, neither did Bloom" I said.

"One sec, we'll be right back" Brandon said, grabbing my hand and dragging me into the living room.

"Let me go with you" he said.

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

"Pretty Please?"

" _No_ "

"Oh come on Stella, you don't understand the torture that kid will put me through. After he finishes running his mouth he'll get hungry and then being the lazy shit he is, he's gonna leave with my car again to get donuts, trust me, I've known him for 17 years." He whined.

"So?" I scoffed.

"Last time he said he was gonna get donuts, he drove off to Vegas, and came back 3 days later with my car painted bright red, the windows smashed and 2 tires busted. I have enough of a headache already, just let me come with you, I'll give you a ride? That way he can't take the car." he offered.

"Fine. You owe me" I sighed rolling my eyes. "And I still hate you, don't get any ideas".

"Thanks Blondie" He said.

"Turns out Sky invited this moron over to help him with his Sociology project, and Bloom's got some good hangover cures. Will you be good here alone?" I asked.

"I'm gonna go get donuts" Liam huffed, frustratedly.

I guess he was right.

"Well you'll have to walk, sorry bro" Brandon said, as he zoomed out the door and into his car.

"Wait, we can't leave now. I'm wearing pyjamas, and so are you" I said.

"Who cares, you look fine, now get in idiot" he hissed.

"Damn okay calm down" I said, getting in the front seat.

* * *

"STELLA!" Bloom squealed, opening the door before hugging me.

"And... _Brandon_?" she questioned, looking behind.

"He was being a whiny little asshole" I muttered.

"Well then you're lucky Sky actually decided to wake up before noon and come over" she said, letting us in.

"So where is she?" I grinned.

"Who, Meredith? Oh she's in the kitch-" Bloom started, but I ran off into the kitchen before she could finish.

"Holy fudgeballs. She's SO. FREAKING. CUTE." I said, staring at the innocent little kitty. Bloom laughed at my eagerness then went to pick her up, and carefully handed her over to me.

"You and Aunty Stellie are gonna have so much fun together" I said, as she nuzzled her little face into my shoudler.

"I'm leaving tomorow, so you can take her toda-"

" _TODAY_?! I LOVE YOU BLOOMY THANK YOU!" I squealed.

"I assume when I have kids you'll adopt them too huh?" she mumbled.

"Lets go to my room, Sky brought his video games over again, and you know how much noise those damn rifle guns make" Bloom said, as we went up the stairs and entered her room.

"So, spill" Bloom said, shutting the door as I slumped into the beanbag.

"Spill what?" I asked.

"Why jackass offered you a ride, and why he's here right now?" she said.

"Oh, long story" I said.

"I got time" she smirked.

"Well he threw this dumb party last night and I got like barely any sleep, then in the morning he woke up all hangover, and as soon and Liam opened his mouth, the guy begged me to bring him along. Apparently he's scared of him crashing his car and going to Vegas - which is a Liam move to be honest, but still" I said.

"He's just making excuses, he only came here for one reason" she said.

"And whats that?" I asked.

"To plot his evil plans downstairs with Sky on how to annoy you further, as if him coming along wasn't enough" she scoffed.

"Yeah.." I said.

"Whats wrong? You look deep in thought" she said.

"Some weird shit went down yesterday at that party" I said.

"Continue.." she said curiously.

"He was being all nice to me, like really nice to me, complementing me and stuff, then all of a sudden he tried to-"

"To punch you?"

"No"

"To pour drinks on you?"

"No"

"To poison you?"

"No no no, just let me finish. He tried to...well..kiss me. I mean I dont know for sure but he was acting weird and-"

"Back the fuck up. HE TRIED TO MAKE A MOVE?!" Bloom screamed at the top of her lungs, scaring her cat.

"Shush they might hear you! And you frightened Meredith" I said.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be Drake, but what the heck, this story went from 0-100 _real quick,_ and you know it girl" she said.

"He was drunk" I said.

"So? According to several sources, he's got drunk a million times at his parties and not once as he ever hit on a girl like that" she said. "Ask Sky, Riven, Muse or even Liam"

"But still, it doesn't mean anything" I said.

"Yes it does! He's hated on a million girls just like he's hated on you, but he always acts the same way to them" she said.

"Bloom calm down it's not that big of a dea-"

"OMG! What if he was pretending to be drunk, using it as an excuse to make a move" she exclaimed.

"And why would he do that?" I asked.

"Think about it - he's using the ultimate tactic, he's trying to make it seem like he's confused about his hatred for you, which then confuses you, which gives him the upper hand because while you're all distracted with putting the pieces together, he's making you fall deeper into his trap" she said.

"Dumb it down please?" I asked.

"He's acting bipolar to make it seem like he likes you, so he thinks eventually you'll fall for him, and you'll be wrapped around his finger" she said.

"Dude, that's impossible, he doesn't affiliate with girls in that way, you know that. You're just going wild with your theories again" I said. "it was just one little incident, he's back to normal and that's all that counts, and besides he probably forgot about it"

"Yeah, you're probably right, anyways, PLL marathon and popcorn?"

"You know it" I said.

* * *

 **Hey guys. Okay so I know I took like 2 freaking months, but I was super busy, with school and shit. Plus, I had writers block in the middle of writing this, so yeah, so so sorry about that. I just thought that you guys would prefer long interesting chapters (even though this ones kinda shitty -_-) instead of short useless ones, which is why I took longer. So to point some things out, that moment was technically a Brella moment, but they don't really know it, since Brandon was in fact drunk. And although Bloom's theory sounds like the typical brella storyline, trust me, its just a theory and breaking hearts has nothing to do with them getting together lol. So nuff said, hope you guys liked the chapter and I'll try my best to update earlier, since I have easter break coming up soon. And alot of you really want me to update BB next, so that will indeed be updated for being patient with me haha, tell me what you guys thought :)**

 **Remember to review, love you all ㈏0**


	4. San Fransisco

**Hey guys, how you been? Thank you for 200+ reviews on BB, I'm real close to finishing it, but don't worry I have this story to keep you all interested. Sooo yeah, I don't really have much to say, so enjoy :)**

 **Pickles333: Thanks, and I'm loving your story Are We Lucky Or What? :P**

 **StellaBrella: Nope, no love triangle containing any of the current characters. But there are a couple new ones that link to the past that come back, and that shit is gonna cause A LOT of drama. And it won't take 20 chapters for them to get together because the drama happens after they get together, so they'll be together by like the 10th chapter. It might be sooner or later, idk, depends on how it goes.**

 **S: Brandon's past will be coming up soon, and so will Stella's. And there'll be a Brandon POV but it'll be later because It would be better to do it when he has conflicted feelings, otherwise it's pretty much the same as Stella's POV.**

 **Iradfs: Maybe...**

 **ColorfulMusic: Thanks, it'll all be worth the wait, I promise**

 **Guest (Mar 11): Updated :)**

 **Monica: Brandon's POV will come soon ;)**

 **cherry156: Thanks :P**

 **Stella: Updated, enjoyyy..**

 **Guest (Mar 19): Check no longer, I've finally updated xD**

 **Guest (Mar 20): THANKSS I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE CHAPTER XD**

 **Guest (Apr 19): Updatedd :P**

 **Maddywinx4eva: Lol same, and thanks x**

 **quest: Aww tysm :)**

 **xsunsparklestellax: I live in Britain too, and holidays arent until mid July ugh. But we only have like 3 weeks left, so thank god.**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V.**

I woke up to the sensation of a tiny wet tongue licking my cheek, which caused me shoot up and to scream in fear. I looked down and realised it was only Meredith, I almost forgot I took her home last night when I came back from Bloom's house.

"I swear to god, for a cat, you act like such a dog sometimes" I grinned, stroking her back, before getting up. I jogged downstairs and poured some milk and cat food for Meredith, before getting my own breakfast.

And no, I didn't burn the house down, I only made cereal.

"Sup Stel" Liam said, walking into the kitchen.

"Hey. The lazy ass still asleep?" I asked, referring to Brandon.

"Nah, he went to the gym" Liam said.

"Didn't you go with him?" I asked.

"Hey! I happened to be proud of my almost there kinda six pack" he said, opening the fridge.

"I didn't mean it like that, calm your ego" I laughed.

"So, what do you plan on doing today? And don't say binge watching a show on Netflix" he said.

"Well, I happened to be having a productive day today. Musa's coming over, and...well, um,yeah, that's about it" I shrugged.

"What time is she coming over?" he asked, sipping on a glass of juice.

"Now?" someone suddenly said, making him spit his juice out and start choking.

"Hey Muse" I said.

"Musa? How the fuck did you get in here?" Liam asked.

"You should really lock your bedroom window" she said casually.

"Why didn't you take the bloody door like a normal human being would do?" Liam said.

"Doors are boring, I wanted to try a Vanessa entrance, you know, Gossip Girl?" she said.

"I will never understand your mindset" Liam sighed, walking into the living room.

"So, what should we do first?" I asked.

"Well I need food for a start. I'm feeling...Chinese takeout?" She said.

"It's 11am?" I said.

"So?" she said, hopping up onto the counter.

"Well okay, you're in luck coz we just happen to have some left over" I said, opening the fridge and getting out a container of noodles, then putting it in the microwave.

"Wait when did you get that?" she asked. "I thought you were at Bloom's house yesterday?"

"I was, so it's probably Liam's. But he wont mind" I said, handing her the plate.

"Cool. So, yesterday I was chilling at home, eating my burrito, and all of a sudden I see this ad on my laptop so I checked it out, and apparently, there's this new ginormous hotel place with like a bowling alley and arcade floor and Cinema and like everything you could possibly think of all in one, that just opened, legit it's the most lit place I've seen since Pizza World-" She started.

"Hold up. There's a pizza world? Where?!" I interrupted.

"In my dreams, unfortunately, but it'll be a thing one day. So yeah, I was thinking, since Bloom gets to spend 3 weeks all the way in Venice, we could have a trip of our own" She said.

"Totally, when do we leave?" I asked, eagerly.

"There's just one thing.." she said.

"What?" I asked.

"Well...this place, it's kinda sorta far..." she said.

"How far?" I asked.

"Like, San Fran far" she said.

"San Fransisco? That's like, what, 6 hours from here?" I said.

"You're cool with that?" she asked.

"Duh. My mom is so focused on Angelo's big game, she really wont mind. And Brandon's mom will be fine with it" I said.

"Okay, should we drag Mustard along too?" she asked.

"Nah, let's make it a girls trip. Just us, a week?" I said.

"10 days dude, we should make the most of it" She said.

"I'll call my mom" I said, grabbing my phone.

"And I'll book the tickets" She said, going on the website on her phone.

"They have this really cool deal that if you pay a certain amount for the overall stay that everything else in the hotel is free, like all the meals and stuff, and unlimited snacks and stuff at the bowling alley." she said.

"No way" I said

"Way. Not only that, but the deal covers 10 days - which is perfect for us" she said

"Damn, how much is this place?" I asked.

"Let me check. So what did your mom say?" she asked.

"It went to voicemail so she must be busy, I texted her instead." I said, looking over at her phone.

"Musa are you freaking insane? These prices are way high, no chance we could afford them with what we have now. I mean, a 2 thousand bucks per person? Thats like, what, 200 per night?" I said.

"Trust me, I've got a plan" she said.

"Plan? Where are we gonna find $4000? Please don't tell me you're gonna go rob a bank or something" I said.

"Nah, this time it's not illegal. So remember how I told you every birthday, christmas and whatever else, I'd ask for money instead of gifts, since I was like 7?" she said

"Yeah.." I said.

"I've been saving that shit up, and believe it or not, I have 20k in a secret bank account" she said.

"Shut up. You have 20 thousand dollars, _just_ from birthdays and stuff?" I said.

"Also from all the bets I've won, salaries from part time jobs I had for like a month before getting fired, oh and I went to Vegas last year, and heck did I win a lot of dough" she said.

"But aren't you gonna save that for like college or something useful?" I asked.

"Eh, that's like a whole different plan. Anyways, this is useful. Unlimited cheesy nachos for 10 days, HELLO" she said.

"Okay yeah true" I said.

"Plus, I heard they have some cute guys up there" She said.

"When do we leave?" I asked, shooting up.

"Uh, now? I mean, we do have to make a pit stop to get gas and eat, so it's gonna be a long car ride" she said.

"True, and we'd be really tired by the time we get there, so if we leave now, the 10 days would start tomorow and we wouldn't waste any time" I said.

"Okay, I just payed for our stay, so we're all set to go?" she said. "Wait, no I'm forgetting something"

"We didn't pack, genius?" I said.

"Go pack right now, and I'll meet you back here in like 15 minutes, I pack really fast" She said.

* * *

"Come on, let me come?" Liam asked, as we stuffed the suitcases in the trunk.

"No, it's a girls trip" Musa said.

"Sexist" he huffed, crossing his arms.

"Aw, it's okay maybe Brandon will take you somewhere" I said.

"Yeah, if I pay him. All he'll be doing is going to the gym, sleeping, eating and playing GTA...which reminds me, I really gotta step my game up, I've been slacking lately an-"

"See, you guys can play GTA together and have fun on your own." Musa interrupted.

"Tell Isabel when she gets back where I am, okay? Oh and please please _please_ take extra care of Meredith, Bloom will murder me when she finds out I left her with you, so I'm counting on you, we'll be back in 10 days." I said, getting into the car.

"Whatever, just bring me back something" he said.

"Bye boy" Musa said, before shutting the car door.

"Get ready for a long ass road trip, coz shits about to go down as soon as we hit the freeway" she grinned.

"And by shit going down - you mean blasting music and almost getting into accidents?" I asked.

"Yup. By the way, when we make a pit stop halfway there, you good with driving?" She asked.

"Yeah sure, I haven't driven since Miami though, so it might get a bit hectic" I said.

"Cool with me." She said, putting the keys into ignition.

* * *

 _Baby, this is what you came for_

 _Lightning strikes everytime she moves_

 _And everybody's watching her_

 _But she's looking at you, ooh, ooh_

 _You, ooh, ooh_

 _You, ooh, ooh_

 _You, ooh, ooh_

 _You, ooh, ooh_

 _You, ooh, ooh Ooh..._

We both sang along as Rihanna blasted out the speakers, and I enjoying the last of my time in the passengers seat before it was my time to drive.

"Okay, there's a gas station up ahead near a burger king where we can get some food" She said, pulling up. Musa filled up the gas tank while I quickly ran into the convenience store and got some snacks and drinks, then put them in the car. She locked the car then we walked to the small road of shops, and went into burger king. We ordered our food and ate, then went back to the car.

"Now I can finally go on my phone and not worry about causing a major accident" She smiled, as I got into the driver's seat.

"Yeah, but I do" I sighed, starting up the car. "Okay, hopefully it won't be that bad"

"Trust me, I'm used to being in Riven's car, and he drives like a fucking race car driver. Like chill bro this ain't no competition" she said.

"Maybe it's the adrenaline. I mean, I used to love driving really fast too, it helped me forget everything that was going on, and cleared my mind" I said, turing the GPS back on as I got on the radio.

"Probably. Now, lets get some real music up in this bitch." Musa smirked, plugging in the aux cord.

"According to the weather forecast it's gonna be hella sunny in San Fran and they do have that ginormous pool with all the slides and stuff, right?" I asked.

"Yep...even better, we have our own hot tub and swimming pool too" Musa said, munching on a Twix bar.

"Shut the fuck up. They do?" I asked.

"Yeah" she said.

"Bitch can we like live there please?" I asked.

"If you get yourself a rich husband then yes" she joked. "Which reminds me..."

"What?" I asked, as I felt her cunning stare burning through me.

"We're gonna go shopping, buy you something hot, then take your ass to the bar" she smirked.

"We're 17" I laughed.

"It's not that kind of bar, it's like a 16 and over rave casino and bar all in one I guess. I mean theres no alcohol unfortunately, not like I can't hit people up to get that bu-"

"Muse" I warned.

"Okay okay, but for real, no alcohol, but _hot_ boys...and private _hot_ tubs" she said, elbowing me.

"Ew stop" I shuddered.

"Come on, you're gonna miss the chance to maybe possibly meet someone..or at least get some action because lets be honest you need some" She said.

"What, you're saying I don't have game?" I said, dramatically slapping my hand on my chest.

"Nah, you just don't use it. Anyways, theres so much shit to do there you\d probably have no time for boys" she chuckled.

"So, does Riven know you're going?" I asked.

"Nope. If I tell him he'll go into crazy overprotective mode" she said.

"Aw, it's so adorable how he's so caring about you and no one else" I said.

"He's like that to people close to him, even you, I mean he sees you as a little sister. Plus, if he has to be nice to you, otherwise Im forced by the girl code to beat his ass" she said.

"How long till we get there? It's getting kinda dark already" I said, looking out at the glowing orbs of light forming a flamboyant sunset. I rolled the window down a bit, letting the warm air in.

"Only like an hour and a half" she said, looking at the GPS.

"Well then, a karaoke battle it is" I smirked, changing the stations.

After almost 2 hours - yup, we got held up by traffic - we finally got to the hotel, and all I could say was DAMN.

"Didn't I tell you" Musa said, nudging me as we walked in. Everything was so...modern? Luxurious? Extravagant?

We picked up our room keys and then went up, in some extremely classy elevator with a huge mirror and strobe lights, the perfect setting for the most Tumblr selfie ever. As soon as I opened the door, my jaw dropped to the floor.

"WOAHH THIS PLACE IS SICK" Musa screamed, dropping her bag and running straight in. I closed the doors, and followed her so we could look around.

"Man, is this San Fran or Greece?" i asked, as I looked at the balcony. It was huge, and connected to an indoor pool that lit up, right next to a bubbling hot tub. It looked so exotic, it was like a dream.

"Well they definitely should have hot greek god looking guys to match" Musa said, unpacking her stuff as we closed the balcony door.

"Whatever, we can do some more exploring tomorrow, I'm so tried so Imma crash" I yawned, as I went to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, then changed into PJs and brushed my teeth and all that. I went into my room and collapsed into the comfy bed, almost instantaneously falling asleep.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of the door knocking quite loudly, and sat up, rubbing my eyes and stretching. I looked at my phone, and it was currently 10am.

"Muse?" I called.

 _Eh, she's a deep sleeper, probably won't wake up for another hour._

I got up and opened the door, and it was room service with a freaking cart with a huge breakfast buffet, including some fancy fruit displays, pancakes, waffles and crepes with berries, chocolate and whipped creme, some drinks and a muffin. I thanked the guy and the trays in to Musa's room, but she wasn't there. A couple minutes later she came out the bathroom with wet hair

"You actually woke up?" I asked.

"Duh. Who do you think ordered this?" she said, digging in.

"Why'd you get all of this though? Not that I'm complaining" I asked, stuffing my face.

"They tried to get me to pick between crepes, waffles and pancakes. Hardest decision ever. So I got all 3. Plus, it's free" she shrugged.

"So what should we do first?" I asked.

"We should go bowling, then the arcade place, and we can get lunch while we're there, then have dinner at the Italian restaurant downtown" She said.

"Sounds like a plan" I said.

After an hour, we were done eating and talking, we got ready. I changed into a black and white graphic tee, light wash distressed shorts and a pair of black superstars. I put my hair in a half up half down ponytail and then grabbed my phone and joined Musa at the door.

We went down to the bowling alley, and damn, it was huge. There was legit enough space for people to have a lane each. We ordered some pizza, nachos and drinks, and then started playing.

"GOD DAMMIT" Musa yelled, as she accidentally slipped up and the ball ended up falling to the side.

"It's okay, let the boss go" I smiled, grabbing a ball. I stood at the centre, and concentrated on the middle.

 _3...2...1...and..._

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF CHEETOS?" Musa screamed, making me jump, getting the exact same as her.

"Muse!" I exclaimed.

"What?" she said.

"Why'd you scream?" I asked.

"I swear I just I saw Riven" she said. I looked over, and there was literally no one there, just a couple girls laughing and dancing to the loud music.

"No you didn't, you just did that to put me off!" I said.

"No, this time it was for real" she said.

"Oh sure" I said.

"I may be petty but I'm a fair player okay" she said. "Plus, If I wanted to put you off, I'd push you into the lane"

"Thanks for the idea" I said, letting her pass through.

"Come on, have you ever seen another guy with magenta spiked hair?" she asked.

"Well no, but what on earth would he be doing here?" I asked, as I hit all 10 pins.

"Fuck yes" I grinned, stuffing my face with nachos.

"I don't know, maybe I'm just a little off" She said.

We continued to play for about two hours because we ended up playing multiple games, and ended up in a tie. Then we went straight to the arcade place, which was a bit more lively and packed. There was a section to get drinks, a party section with a dance floor, a casino section, and then your usual arcade games and claw crane thingys.

"They have a cotton candy machine. Bitch I'll be right back with two clouds of pure perfection" Musa said, running off. I swear this girl is attracted to sugar like a magnet.

"Okay" I chuckled, as I took a look around.

Hmm, what to do first? There's like so much to choose from. Theres a bunch of those car games, theres some of those claw games with like stuffed animals in them, and some with electronics in them, there's even a temple run game...

Suddenly, my eyes caught sight of something beautiful. A crane game with stuffed toys in them, but they were no ordinary toys. They were kawaii food plush pillows, like freaking burgers with huge eyes and a cute little grin. Literally the cutest thing ever, and yup, there was a slice of pizza.

 _Boy, I'm winning this shit for sure._

I ran straight to it, and grabbed the change from my pocket. Yup, I know this hotel comes with all this free shit, but the games you hav to pay for, becuase that would just be unfair, wouldn't it?

I quickly shoved a coin in the machine and started playing, with my eye on the prize. The first go, I got it too far to the left, and then the second, the dumb thing dropped it.

 _Dang it._

Okay, one more go, you can do this. I moved the handle carefully to the right position, then slammed the 'grab' button.

 _Come on, come on..._

"YES! I GOT IT!" I squealed, as I waited for the thing to pop out. I grabbed it and then took half a million pics with it, because well, it's a fucking kawaii pizza. AKA my newborn child that I will now name Stella junior.

And no, I'm not crazy, I'm just...imaginative and passionate about food.

"I'm back and look what I go- HOLY FREAKING MOLY WHAT IS THAT IT'S SO CUTE I NEED ONE!" Musa screamed, interrupting herself as soon as she saw it.

"It's Stella junior. And give me that." I said, grabbing the other cotton candy from her hand right before she took a bite from that too.

"Fudge, I'm outta change. Can you do me a favour and get ten bucks out of my bag so we can use that coin thing to change it into, well, change" Musa asked.

"Yeah, be right back" I said, as I made my way out. I got in the elevator, went up to our hotel room, then fished around in Musa's bag...which is literally a black hole. I eventually found it, then rushed out. I turned back to close the door, and when I turned around, I bumped into someone.

"Shit sorry I didn't mean to-"

"BLONDIE?!"

"JERKFACE?!"

What the actual fucking fuck is _BRANDON_ doing here?!

"I'd ask you the same thing" he said.

I said that out loud, didn't I?

"Well I'm here with Musa, why are you here?" I asked.

"I'm with Riven, he convinced me to come for 10 days, and now I regret it" he said.

10 day, just like us? WHY?

"Well if you could just stay out of this corridor, it would be great" I said, getting up.

"I can't stay out of this corridor you dumbass, I'm staying in this room" He snapped, pointing to the door right across ours.

You have got to be kidding me. I can't even live in peace when I'm in another freaking city?

Why him, out all people why _him_?

"Well I'm going to the arcade, so stay out of my way" he said.

"Me too. Jeez, why are you literally copying my every move?" I said, as I got back in the elevator.

"You're the one copying me!" he said.

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are"

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are"

"No I'm no-

"Stella I TOLD you he was here!" Musa said, popping up as the door opened. She was standing there with Riven by her side, eating a bag of chips.

"Yeah, look who else" I huffed.

"Well I'm gonna go with Riven, so you can use that money. Knock yourself out and don't do anything stupid" she said, as she ran off.

"Muse wait you can't leave me here with- ugh, no use" I sighed.

"Just get lost" he said.

"You get lost!" I said.

"No, you get lost" he said.

 _This is gonna be a long day..._

 **Three hours later**

"What else can I do?" I asked to myself, looking around. I've played almost every game around here, and well, it's been three fucking hours already and Musa isn't back yet.

I spot a video game with two guns, and assumed it was one of those multiplayer games, but I'm pretty sure I could play single player too.

As I walked towards it, I saw a certain jackass grab one of them.

"Hey! I was gonna play that!" I said.

"You? I bet you twenty bucks you wouldn't last a sec" he laughed.

"Oh really? I bet 30 bucks I'd win against you" I said.

"It's on" he said, as I grabbed one too.

He doesn't know what he's up against. All that time being forced to play GTA with Liam is finally going to be payed off...

* * *

"HA! Pay up boy" I said, as I won. Yup, you heard that right, I won.

"How did you...But thats...Woah" he said, literally lost for words at my amazing skills. I mean, who wouldn't be gobsmacked, I just beat Brandon Shields, the so called King of GTA, at a video game. Damn am I good or what?

"You know what Blondie, you ain't that bad" he said, as he grabbed the cash out his pocket and handed it to me.

"I know" I smiled. "You're not too bad either, for an amateur that is"

"I wasn't talking about that, stupid. I mean like, you know, as a person or whatever." he said.

"I thought you hated me? All of sudden you beat me in a game and we're on this truce?" I said.

"Who said I don't hate you? I just said I hate you a little less. Plus, this isn't a truce and you didn't beat me, you got lucky" he said.

"Whatever. I'm starving. I can't believe Muse ditched me for Riv. No offence to him. But she still promised me Italian dinner" I said.

"Same, to be honest I only came with Riven because he begged me to. And since she's here, he's gonna be with her, and this is gonna be boring" he said.

"Yeah" I said, as I texted Musa for the umpteenth time.

"Fuck it, let's just go get dinner. You wanna go to the restaurant down the street, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but, why the heck would _you_ wanna go with _me_?" I asked.

"I'm tryna be friendly for a change, now do you want to eat or not?" he asked.

"Lets go" I said, thinking of that delicious food.

Damn, what's up with him? He hasn't sworn at me for like...a whole sentence? Weird. What happened to the whole 'I'll ruin you' thing?

When we got to the restaurant, we got a table and ordered our food.

"So, Liam must be pretty mad at the both of us. I mean, neither of us let him come, and pretty much everyone is out of town" I said.

"I didn't know you were coming, and I thought he'd be with you the whole time" he said.

"I told him he could have fun with you. Boy I feel bad for leaving him all alone." I said.

"He's still got the cat, trust me that's enough for him. Once, when were 12, he had a pet cat named Oscar and whenever I'd come over, he'd totally ignore me, and play with the cat. He secretly loves animals, and once there's no humans in the room, he'll start doing all kinds of crazy shit" Brandon said.

"Really? I never took him for the cat kind" I said.

"Omg, you guys are _such_ a cute couple!" The waitress squealed, as she set down our food.

Couple?

As soon as I heard that, I started to suffocate on air.

"Oh hell no, we're not...no. We're just...um, frenemies?" Brandon said.

"Really? Well you'd make an adorbs couple" she giggled, walking away.

"So we're frenemies now?" I asked.

"If I said enemies, she'd be suspicious and if I said friends, she wouldn't buy it" he said.

"True." I said. before digging into my lasagne..after taking pictures and sending them to everyone on my contact list, of course.

* * *

"No way, he actually did that? What did she say after that?" I asked, almost choking on laughter. Brandon was telling me about some story involving 14 year old Liam and his crush, and how he accidentally spilled mashed potato on her in front of everyone and confessed his love after that.

"Yeah, then she called him an twat and ran away crying because her fake gucci bag was ruined" he said, as the bill came.

We payed it off, half half, and then walked back to the hotel.

"Musa's still not back" I said, opening the door.

"Maybe because she's with Riven in there." he said pointing to the laughter coming from his door. "I can't go in anyways, Riv has the keys"

"Well you can spend the night at mines. Musa won't be particularly happy about you sleeping in her bed though. So you can sleep in mine...wait that sounded way worse than what I meant. Like, I sleep in Musa's room and you in mine" I said.

Jeez, now I'm inviting him over? Damn. I have no choice though...

"Well, thanks." He said, as I opened the door and walked in.

I quickly ran to the bathroom and changed into PJs and all that, then went back and turned the TV on, because I'm really missing that Netflix life, ya feel?

"Hey, Stella?" Brandon asked.

"Ye- oh my god, you did it again!" I said.

"Did what?" he said.

"Called me Stella" I said.

"Isn't that your name?" he asked.

"Yeah but you barely call me by my name, it's always blondie or idiot or something" I said.

"I've been calling you Stella for that past two hours" he said.

"You have? I guess I didn't notice then" I said.

"Whatever, anyways. Liam called and said that when we return he'll kill us both unless we bring him back souvenirs and authentic San Fran pizza. I don't get it, all pizza is the same, whats the difference?" he asked.

"All pizza is NOT the same. Clearly you are deprived from pizza eduction, every pizza is different. And I'll give him Stella junior because if I try bringing back some actual pizza I'd end up eating it on the way back." I said.

"Stella Junior?" he asked.

"Yup, my child" I grinned, grabbing my cute plush pillow.

"Well, it's got your eyes...infact, it's almost an exact replica of you" he joked. "Who's the dad?"

"Dave Franco...I wish" I said. "Anyways, I'm kinda tired, so I'm gonna crash. Night"

"Night" he said.

"Wait, Stella" he asked.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I know this trip is gonna be boring with Musa and Riven being together 24/7 and all, but maybe we could have fun on our own, like, we might as well" He said.

"So this is a truce?" I asked.

"I guess" he said. "Friends?"

"Friends..." I said, shaking hands with him.

"Have you had any tequila today?" I asked.

"No, why?" he asked.

"Because it's weird for you to be this nice" he said.

"I know, you're just overly excited to spend 9 days with me. I mean who wouldn't?" he said cockily.

"Ah, the jackass is back" I said, before going to Musa's extremely unorganised and messy room.

I shoved the huge pile of her stuff off the bed and then crawled in, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

 **Exams are finally over thank god. My school is so unorganised, they make us do a whole day of end of year tests on the same week they have to give in levels for our reports, and since they didn't have time to mark all of them in time, they made us do more fucking tests for the reports. Like why? Just do the damn reports later, no need for more tests. Ugh. At least I end school in one week technically, then I have a week of no learning, just sports day (where I will be stealing everybody's food and eating it because that's what i do best) and activities and stuff. So yeah, it's finally** **almost the summer holidays...which means more frequent updates...I'll try, I really will :).**

 **Soo okay they have no feelings for each other yet, just want to clarify that, but hey atleast they're on the friend level. Which will change in the next couple of chapters...;) Remember to review, love you guys, and I promise I'll stop being so lazy and try and update every week or two. lol okay byeee**


	5. Prank Wars and Truth or Dare

**Hola! Hope you guys liked that Brella chap in BB. Don't worry, we'll get there soon in this story too but that will not be the end of the story, coz there's a lot more shit to come. At this point they're only friends, no feelings yet, but there will be very very soon. And probably Brandon's POV too. Anyways, enjoy this chap.**

 **Pickles333: Aww literally me when I see you guys' reviews lol. Glad you liked it.**

 **iradfs: Thanks :)**

 **AlexisPeany: Thanks, and yeah I guess Riven's kinda rich. But then again Brandon payed for himself and he's pretty rich since he's always got tons of cash on him.**

 **cherry156: You're welcome, and I'm happy toooo lol :P**

 **xsunsparklestellax: Thank youuu!**

 **Guest (Jul 3): Ikr, about time xD**

 **S: thanks, and yes they will be later on.**

 **Winxtorious: Me tooo XD**

 **Mythixgaming: THANKS :P**

 **quest: Thank you, and I'm tryna update asap.**

 **StellaBrella: IKR my email's been lookin dry lately too lol. Enjoy the chapter :)**

 **It's Stella: Updated xx**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V.**

"Oi, get up"

"It's too early...5 more minutes" I groaned, rolling around in my bed as I pulled the covers over my head.

"It's not that early, it's 11 already. Plus room service just arrived with the food"

"FOOD!" I squealed, jumping up. "Brandon? Oh yeah, I forgot you were here"

"Yeah, I've been banging on Riven's door but he won't answer" he said.

"We can go over there later. First, breakfast" I grinned, getting out of bed and going to the living room where all the food was, while Brandon trailed behind. As I turned on the TV, my phone started ringing.

 **"Hey honey, this is Isabel speaking. Liam told me that you went to San Francisco?"**

"Yeah, I came with Musa. Is that okay?"

 **"Oh yeah yeah, fine. Just be careful, and have fun. I was just calling to ask if you knew where Brandon was? I called him but it went to voicemail and he didn't come home last night"**

"Yeah he's actually here, as in like the same room as me"

 **"Estimado dios, you two are in a hotel room together? And you didn't kill each other?"**

"Yup, hard to believe I know. I'm actually with Musa but she joined Riven so I let Brandon sleep here."

 **"Aw, you're such a sweetheart. Brandon could learn from you. May I speak to him?"**

"Of course" I said, chucking my phone at Brandon.

"Hello? No- I know, but- okay sorry sorry next time I'll tell you..okay yeah, adios mamá" he said, ending the call.

"You didn't tell your mom where you went? And you turned your phone off so she couldn't reach you?" I asked, grabbing a granola bar.

"I forgot okay, and I didn't turn my phone off, it ran out of charge and I didn't have a chance to charge it since all my stuff is in the other room" he said.

"You know, they're taking awfully long in there. Let's go pound and yell until they come out" I said, hopping up.

We both went outside the door, and started banging on it.

"MUSA HARMONY MELODY AND RIVEN ZACHARY CARTER OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR BEFORE I BREAK IT DOWN MYSELF" I screamed.

"WHAT SHE SAID!" he yelled.

"Hey at least be original" I said.

"Whatevs" he shrugged.

"Okay can they not hear us or something?" I asked.

"I dunno, I was here for 15 minutes before you woke up." he said.

"That tares it" I sighed, as I took a step back, cracking my knuckles.

Just kidding. You probably thought I would try break the door down. Well I'm not paying to repair that shit.

Instead, I grabbed a bobby pin from the little table in out room next to the entrance, and began to pick the lock.

Brandon scoffed. "That's never gonna wor-"

 _Click_

"What were you saying?" I smirked, opening the door.

"Nothing" he said. "Now where are they?"

"I'll check Riven's room, you go to yours and charge your phone before your mom comes here and kills you" I said.

I walked the only other room there was, which I assumed was Riven's. I knocked on the door, and heard no reply. Cautiously, I went in, covering my eyes with my hand.

"Are you guys decent?" I asked.

No reply.

I opened my eyes, and saw a neatly made bed, but isolated room.

"STELLA!"

"What what is it?" I asked, as Brandon ran to me.

"Why is all Musa's stuff in my room?" he asked.

"What do you mean? That's impossible, her stuff is in- Musa?" I paused, as I saw the raven haired girl herself, walking out of our room and into what seemed to be Brandon's, with all her stuff.

"Oh hey Stel" she said.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just movin my stuff in here." she said casually.

"What about me?" I asked, taken aback.

"Ahem. What about _me_?" Brandon said.

"It's all Riven's Idea" she said, pointing to the balcony, where Riven was just chilling in the pool. I stormed over there, and glared at him with my arms crossed, as the others followed behind me.

"Hello Stella" he said casually, sipping on a cocktail looking drink.

"Why is Musa moving in here?" I asked.

"Oh, I didn't make you mad did I?" he asked. "I mean I know you hate Brandon and all so I get why you wouldn't want to share your room with him"

"Wait, so you basically swapped Musa and Brandon? What happened to the whole 'girls trip' stuff?" I asked. "Plus, this has nothing to do with Brandon, it's the fact that you stole my best friend"

"So you don't mind Brandon sharing with you?" Musa asked.

"No, but-"

"Why?" Riven asked suspiciously, as him and Musa both looked at us.

"Yeah, why? I mean, you would've made him sleep outside last night, but no.." Musa said.

"Hey, I have a heart okay?" I said.

"Hmm.." Riven wondered.

"Dude, I agree with Stella. Why the hell are you kicking me out, when you forced me to come in the first place?" Brandon asked.

"You and Stella agree on something?" They both said in disbelief and shock.

"Why are you guys so surprised? So what we're friends, this isn't what it's abou-" I started, before getting interrupted once again.

"Woah woah you guys are _friends_?" Riven asked. We both nodded, wondering what the heck was going on here.

"Okay well you'll be fine sharing won't you?" Riven said.

"But-"

"Please Stella. Pleeeeaaaasseeee, I promise once we get home I'll come over every single say and hang with you. And I'll come have dinner with you today? It'll be fun. Trust me, the four of us-" she said.

"Two of you" I corrected.

"Yeah okay. But still, do it for me? We haven't argued a single time, which is rare, so can we please please PLEAS-"

"OKAY OKAY. Only because you guys haven't argued and deserve it" I sighed.

"Yay!" she said excitedly, hugging me.

"You two have fun" Riven smiled.

"Oh trust me, we will. Just me, Brandon and Stella Junior" I said, before walking back out.

"Get your shit apparently we're roommates" I said.

"Musa did it for me" he said, finding his suitcase in Musa's- I mean, _Brandon's_ room.

"So. Whatcha wanna do?" I asked.

"I have an idea" he said, as a mischievous smile made it's way on his face. "Prank those two lovebirds?"

"Now that is the Brandon I like" I smirked.

If you didn't know already, I used to be extremely notorious at my old school for pranks. Infact not just the school, but the whole neighbourhood. I reigned as queen of pranks - and pizza.

"Balloons?" we both said simultaneously.

* * *

"That's the last one" I said, tying up the final balloon as I threw on top of the pile. So basically, Musa and Riven went out to have lunch and Brandon and I have been blowing up hundreds of balloons to fill up Riven's room.

"They're back" he whispered, as we heard the door unlock.

"Shit...um, closet!" I said, as we both rushed into the cramped closet, leaving a small space for us to see.

"I know right. I'll just grab something from my room and- what the actual fuck" Musa said, as she entered her room. We put cups full of water all over the floor and mousetraps on the bed.

"What is it? Woah. Okay let's go to my room instead.." Riven said.

"Sh!" I hushed.

"I didn't even say anything?" Brandon whispered.

All of a sudden we heard a string of profanities and the two getting really frustrated.

"Who the fuck did this?" Musa asked.

"I don't know but when I find out they're getting a fist to the face" Riven yelled.

Yup, Musa and Riven are probably the most angriest and aggressive individuals you'll ever meet...which is why they're perfect for each other.

I tried to hold in my laughter, and I could literally feel my mascara run because I was laughing so hard tears were streaming down my face.

"You know what, let's just go to the balcony" Riven said.

A minute later, we could hear could hear the screaming again.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MOTHER TERESA IS THIS!?" Musa yelled, as Brandon and I fist bumped.

What exactly did we do to piss Musa off this much?

Well, we just filled the pool with loads of flat floats, and put loads and loads of caramel apples on them.

"Might as well" Riven said, as we heard him bit into one, then spit it out and start yelling.

Did I say caramel _apples_? Sorry, I meant caramel covered _onions_ , which look pretty much identical.

"Okay that does it, who the hell did this?" he yelled.

"Maybe Stel might have seen someone come in, I'll call her" she said.

"Oh shit" I whispered, as my phone vibrated.

"Answer it, they can't hear us, they're on the balcony and we're in here" Brandon said.

"Hello?"

 **"Hey Stel. So some dimwitted, jerkwad, bitch ass, retarded fuckface thought it would be funny to prank us and fill this place with mousetraps and balloons and shit."**

"Aw, that's really bad. Sorry I don't know who it was"

 **"Where exactly are you?"**

"Where am I? Well I'm at...the arcade place"

 **"Why isn't there any music in the background then?"**

"Because...um..."

"Shit what do I say?" I whispered, panicking.

"I don't know" he shrugged.

 **"Hello?"**

"Sorry Muse, connections really bad. Basically, heres the truth, I met this really cute guy there and we hit it off, so I'm in his hotel room"

 **"No way. What's his name?"**

"His name? It's um..it's...C-Cameron? Yeah Cameron." I said, making up lies by the minute. I don't know okay, I'm just tryna make it believable.

 **"Really? So where is he?"**

I elbowed Brandon, hoping he'd kick in.

"Sunshine are you done yet? I'm missing those sweet lips" he said.

 **"Well damn girl, seems like you're having a good time, I won't disrupt any longer, have fun"** she said, ending the call.

"Good going, but Sunshine? Where'd that come from?" I asked.

"Oh you know nicknames make it sound more real. Plus that nickname suits you. You know, the hair" he said.

"I guess. Now, how do we get out of here without them noticing us?" I asked.

"We make an escape now, before they get back, quietly okay? Don't make a racket like you usually do" he said.

"Hey I do not make a rack-" I started, but then paused when I realised I was speaking pretty loud, which further proved his point.

"Asshole" I muttered, rolling my eyes as I saw the smug grin on his face. "You go first"

"Fine" he said, opening the door slowly, before peeking out.

"Coast is clear" he said, as he was about to step out. Suddenly a wasp popped up, which took me by surprise, resulting in me shrieking, bumping my head on the wall and somehow slipping, which caused the both of us to collapse into the pool of balloons, making dozens pop loudly.

"Shit shit shit shit shit" I said, simultaneous to all the popping. I was now on top of Brandon in a very awkward position, and our faces were inches apart.

And being the cocky jerks who just _ooze_ with pride when it comes to competition, we started blaming each other, not even moving from that position, just yelling in each others faces, unaware that two very confused people were standing right beside us.

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU FALL YOU KLUTZ YOU BAITED US OUT!" he yelled.

"THERE WAS A WASP AND I ACCIDENTALLY LOST BALANCE, DUFUS. I DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE WHAT KINDA IDIOT WOULD HIT THEIR HEAD ON A WALL AND END UP TRIPPING ON THE STUPID DUFFEL BAG IN THERE ON PURPOSE HUH?" I yelled.

"YEAH WELL THANKS TO THAT WASP WE'RE PRACTICALLY DEA-"

"Can someone explain what's going on here like this has been the weirdest day ever and now I see you two on top of each other like what has the world come to?" Riven interrupted.

Ah shit.

 _Busted_.

"Riven, Musa, hey, we were just uh.." I stuttered, immediately getting off him, as we both stood up.

"Cameron? Really? I shoulda known it was you two, Stel would never even dare go up to a guy's room without AT LEAST texting me about it." Musa said.

"Uh, surprise?" Brandon chuckled nervously, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You two did all those pranks?" Riven asked.

"Yeah...are you gonna punch us both in the face?" I pouted.

"As much as I want to, you guys make it so difficult to punish you" he sighed, giving into my puppy face.

"How did even you come up with that?" Musa asked curiously.

"You're not mad?" Brandon asked, confusedly.

"No...I'm actually pretty impressed." she said.

"Hey, who wouldn't be when _I_ prank them. I mean come on, those were classics, amateur's stuff, you ain't seen nothing yet" I smirked.

"The ego's got the best of her, it was me who thought of everything, obviously, the reigning _king_ of Pranks" Brandon said.

"Excuse me? Did I just hear you call yourself the king of pranks? Because if I did then you need a reality check, _I'm_ royalty when it comes to the world of pranks" I argued.

"Right, keep dreaming" he scoffed.

 _Did he just..hell no, I'll prove to him who's boss, just you wait..._

"Whatever, if you did this to get back at us for the whole room thing then fair enough, we're equal, no more candy covered vegetables floating in the pool okay?" Riven said.

"Cool, now can we please go to the cinema? Those unlimited cheesy nachos are literally calling my name" I said.

* * *

"That was AWESOME" Musa squealed, as we walked out of the movie.

We had just seen Suicide Squad, and it was pretty good - so was the food.

"I know right. Oh by the way, in case you forgot, you promised me dinner" I said, slurping on the last bit my soda, before chucking it in a nearby bin.

"Yeah, where'd you wanna go? How about that restaurant down the street? I know you really wanted to go last night" she asked.

"Nah, already went with Brandon. How abou-"

"You two went to dinner together?!" Riven exclaimed.

"Yeah, bu-" Brandon started, but Musa cut him off.

"Why don't you tell us what really happened? Is this some type of cover up for a master plan? Did you drug Stella? Because if you did Brandy boy I will pop your head like a zit okay I warned you about this months ago, mess with her and you get me. Lay a single finger on her and I'll mur-"

"No one was drugged Musa calm down. And thanks for that...graphic image" I interrupted.

"So wait, you guys are actually _friends_? Like as in, a truce, or something?" She asked.

"Precisely" Brandon said.

"Hmm, still don't trust you though..." she said, glaring at him.

"Lay off him babe, at least no one is getting seriously injured, taken to the hospital, no property has been damaged, no one's been arrested, no cops have been called, and we haven't got kicked out, it could have been way worse you know" Riven said.

"True, at least you're not killing each other" she said.

"So anyways, as I was saying, how about you just come over and we can have girl's night, just us, like we planned before Riven came and sabotaged it all - no offence" I said.

"Cool. Brandon you can move back in for a night, don't bother to take your stuff though, you'll be back before midnight" Musa said.

"I'm gonna check up on Liam, see how the cat's doing" I said, calling him.

 **"Hello traitor"**

"Traitor? What did I do to deserve that title?"

 **"You told me Brandon would be at home, but he isn't, instead he went off to some fancy smancy hotel where you are, leaving me ALONE"**

"Sorry okay I thought he was gonna be there. How's the cat?"

 **"Oh, Meredith? She's living the high life, ordering me to do all of her chores!"**

"The high life? She's a cat okay, she doesn't even have chores"

 **"She literally stole my bed and made it her throne, and she makes a fuss if I do something she doesn't want. Like i was watching TV with her yesterday and when it was Food Network, she was fine, but as soon as I changed it to Toddlers and Tiaras she like hisses at me"**

"She has a point...I mean who doesn't love Food Network? I'd probably hiss at you too if you changed it to Honey boo boo. Also, I thought you loved cats? What happened?"

 **"I do but-...wait, who told you that?"**

"Brandon, why?"

 **"What else did he tell you..."**

"You know, stuff. Like all your embarrassing middle school stories and secret love of pets" I blurted out.

 **"When you guys get back I'm gonna ki-"** he started, but I quickly ended the call.

"What did he say?" Brandon asked.

"Nothing, nothing. The cat is fine, and so is he, that's all we need to know" I said.

* * *

"So then the dude asked me, are you 21 miss? I was like MOTHERFUCKER THIS IS BLOODY LEMONADE NOT VODKA I DON'T NEED TO BE 21!" Musa screamed, as she told me her story.

"Then what?" I asked, practically jamming as much Chinese takeout noodles down my throat as I could.

"Then he kinda kicked me out. But can you believe it? Why the fudge do I need an ID for lemonade? And what do I look, like 3? I'm freaking 17 if I'm old enough to drive I'm pretty damn sure I'm old enough to have some squeezed lemon okay" she said.

"Yeah. That's why you should get everything from here, coz those downtown stores can be sketchy or downright dumb" I said.

"True. So what have you been up to? Except for pranking me and Riv of course.. What's up with you and Brandy-boy being all chill?" she asked.

"Well, after you kindly DITCHED me, we ended playing some arcade game, and obviously I won. Then we went to get dinner and he wasn't as asshole-ish as he seems if you get to know him" I said, as she looked at me with a smirk.

"Still an asshole, just like, less?" I said.

"Don't worry I get you. But I'm gonna miss being the spokesperson to a live WWE fight every time you guys are in the same room" she said.

"Yeah." I laughed "So what should we do now?"

"Truth or dare" She grinned.

"Okay. You first" I said.

"Truth" she said.

"If you had to choose between Riven and Zac Efron, who would you pick? Like if you weren't with Riven at the moment, you're single" I asked.

She thought about it for a couple seconds, then spoke.

"Still Riven, he's the best in my book" she said.

"Awwwww that's so frickin cute I can't" I squealed.

"Your turn" she said.

"Dare" I said.

Already regretting it.

"I know" she smirked. "Get a stranger to buy you a drink, then kiss him"

"Okay, first of all-" I started.

"I'm not taking no for an answer" she said.

"Oh come on Muse, I can't just, force some random guy to buy me a drink then snog him" I said.

"Please? For me" she pouted.

"Fine." I grumbled.

We went down to the casino place, and guess what?

Riven and Brandon are here too. Which means they'll see this embarrassing moment. Which means they'll use it against me in the future.

 _Great. Just great._

"Pick a guy" she said.

"I scanned the room, and a certain guy caught my eye. He looked about my age, and he had tan skin, green eyes and messy brown hair which was peeking out of his black beanie.

"Go!" Musa said, knowing who I was staring at, as if she read my mind or something.

"But I-"

"GO!" she repeated, pushing me.

 _You can do this Stel, I mean, he's just a guy, no biggie._

I took a deep breath and walked towards him, taking the seat next to him.

Which was when I realised the two devils were sitting a couple seats behind him, and were staring right at me. Fuck.

"Um, hey" I said nervously.

Wait, why am I nervous?

"Hi" he said, turning his head around as he finally noticed my presence.

What do I do now?

What if he has a girlfriend? That would be so embarrassing on my part.

And I can't just ask him if he's single, it might lead him on.

"Are you here alone?" he asked.

Okay, he's clearly single if he's asking me that, right?

"Yeah, you?" I asked.

"Yup" he smiled, biting his lip

Dear god, he's so adorable.

"Can I get you a drink?" he asked.

"Me? A drink?" I asked.

That's the first part of her dare, and I didn't even need to do anything. Well damn.

"Uh yeah sure, why not?" I said.

A couple minutes later, there was some small talk, but I was getting really freaking nervous. I mean, I haven't done this stuff since...uh, let's just say it's been some time, so I more or less forgot how to talk to guys.

"S-so, uh, w-where are you from? Like, unless you're from here, you know, San Fran, t-then that's like, uh, totally cool too" I stuttered.

 _AH FROZEN FUDGEBALLS I'M DYING HERE SOMEONE HELP._

The guy, who's name I learned is Blake, wasn't cringing at me like I was, infact I think he found somehow found it cute that I was sweating like niagara falls over here, since he was staring at me in adoration and grinning.

But behind him, stupid Riven and Brandon were silently laughing their asses off at me failing miserably to speak english. I tried my hardest to ignore the jerks, but it was really pissing me off now.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" I asked. He nodded and I got up and walked straight up to them.

"Can I help you?!" I asked, frustrated.

As soon I stood in front of them with a frown on my face, they couldn't keep it in anymore, and Riven spat out his fucking drink IN MY POOR FACE.

 _Wow_. Just _wow_.

Now all chances of kissing this dude are blown thanks to Riven, I mean I look like I dipped my head into a damn water fountain.

"First of all, I'm going to throw bricks at your face when I get the chance" I said, glaring at Riven.

"Sorry, totally didn't mean that" he said.

"And second. Why are you guys laughing at me?" I whined.

"Coz it's funny" Brandon laughed.

"What's funny?" I asked.

"You trying to hit on that guy" he said.

"I'm not trying to hit on him. Musa dared me to get him to buy me a drink and then kiss him" I said.

"You're joking" he said.

I looked at them with a straight face, and then it struck them that I wasn't joking

"Bro, I think she's serious" Riven said, before they both started to laugh again.

I am _so_ offended right now.

"You don't think I can do it, do you?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.

"Well, if we're being honest here..." Brandon shrugged.

"Okay, watch me" I said.

 _I'll show them!_

"Woah, what happened to you?" Blake asked, noticing the drink that was splattered mostly on my face and chest.

"Someone accidentally spilt their drink, and they're lucky that I'm forgiving enough not to rip their face off" I said, looking at Riven.

"Oh, here" he said, giving me a paper towel.

"Thanks" I said, wiping my face with it.

In the corner of my eye I could see Brandon and Riven looking at me really doubtfully.

Come on Stel, just do it. Just kiss him.

I leaned forward slowly, and it seemed he was getting the message because he did it too.

 _Ah geez, what if I'm leading him on to the wrong thing?_

 _Theres no going back now, just do it!_

 _Wait, what if I forgot how to kiss?_

 _Okay you're just stalling now, kiss him!_

 _But, wait, what if-_

My thoughts were cut off by his lips colliding onto mine. I was too busy arguing with my conscience to realise he beat me to it.

Wait a minute.

He's kissing me.

Fuck yeah, I did it.

Since this was the first and probably last kiss I'd have for a long time, I decided to make it count.

I snaked my arm around his neck, drawing him as close as possible, as he cupped my face with one hand and wrapped the other around my waist.

Mind you, we were sitting on bar stools, so that took some skill.

It wasn't emotional or anything like that. It was just pure physical attraction, which was good because I didn't want to start anything. And hey, the fact that there was a cocktail splattered all over my white shirt, making my bra pretty visible, probably did all the work for me.

After what seemed to be a very long time, I pulled away, my breath heavy.

"I got to go, but I'll see you round" I winked, getting up and walking straight to the guys.

Riven kinda looked like he was in awe, but Brandon was like gobsmacked. Did he really think I couldn't do it?

"I'm impressed" Riven smirked, hi fiving me.

"Got anything to say, Brandy?" I asked.

"...How?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and looked around for Musa, then spotted her sipping on a drink.

"Mission accomplished" I said.

"Wait, you did it?" she asked.

"You're kidding me. You didn't see?" I asked.

"I'm joking, I saw. Well done" she said.

"Thanks" I said.

"Hey, is that a hickey?" she asked, pointing to my neck.

"What? Where? That's impossible, we didn't even-"

"I'm joking, again." she chuckled.

* * *

 **8 days later**

This trip has been mind-blowingly awesome. Today's our last day, and we were getting ready to go an all you can eat buffet place downtown, so we were packing our stuff. I grabbed the last of my clothes and jammed them into my suitcase, but I felt like I was forgetting something..

"My baby!" I said. That's it, I forgot to pack Stella Junior. I looked around my room, but I couldn't find her anywhere. I went to the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and even the balcony, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"Brandon, have you seen Stella Junior?" I yelled.

"Check your closet" he yelled.

"I already checked my- OH MY GOD" I screamed, opening the closet door, as thousands of bouncy balls fell out, practically attacking me and making me fall to the floor.

"Gotcha" Brandon said, standing at my door.

So, all week we've been having a prank battle to see who the best prankster is, and I guess this is one of his stupid little pranks, kidnapping my child and assaulting me with balls.

Asshole.

"Where is she?!" I wailed.

"You looking for this?" He smirked, waving Stella Junior around.

"Gimme!" I said, getting up.

"Come and get it" he said, before running off.

"I'm going to kill you, dickhead!" I screamed, chasing him around, until I finally backed him up on the balcony. He looked at the pool, then back at me and grinned.

 _Don't you dare get her wet or else I will-_

"BRANDON!" I whined, as he jumped in. I had no choice but to jump in after.

I tried to tackle him, but it was harder than I thought since we were in the water and I didn't want to drown. He kept moving it side to side, which is when I realised his white shirt was soaked, and his abs were peeking through.

Damn, I knew he had a hot body, but not _this_ hot, I mean-

Snap out of it Stel, your child is in danger!

"Enjoying the view are we?" he winked.

"You're...so...going...to...regret...this...shields" I said, jumping up and down, as he held it up, mocking the fact that I couldn't reach it.

"Guys! This is no time to be swimming, we need to get going!" Riven said, standing near the pool, face palming.

I saw he was distracted and splashed water in his face, then quickly grabbed Stella Junior.

"Aw, poor thing" I said, cuddling it as I got out the pool. I dried myself up and changed, then wrapped a towel around Stella Junior so the rest of my suitcase wouldn't be soaked, and so that it could dry.

"She looks so cute, like a sushi" I cooed.

"It's literally just a pillow" Brandon sighed, drying his hair.

"Shut up, she's my baby" I said, as I put it in my suitcase then shut it.

"Whatever" he said, walking out.

I need to get him back...what should I do?

I've got it! I'll bust his car tire, since he loves his car so much. If I do anything more than that he'll back me over with a truck, but he can't do shit because tires are replaceable.

"Stel, we're gonna leave, are you ready?" Musa asked.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up, I need to..um, call my mom" I said

"Okay we're gonna put our suitcases in the cars and then we'll wait for you near the fountain" she said, grabbing my suitcase. I waited a couple minutes then went to the parking lot, and they weren't there.

I spot Brandon's car, then took out a small screwdriver from my bag.

Why do I have a screwdriver in my bag? Well, Musa said you gotta be prepared for everything and anything, so she gave it to me. Weird, I know.

I took a deep breath, as I held it near the tire.

"He's still gonna kill me" I said to myself. "Whatever"

I pierced it into the rubber, making the air slowly hiss out.

"Don't ever mess with Stella Junior again" I whispered, before finding the others at the fountain.

"There you are, what took you so long?" Riven asked.

"Nothing, let's go" I said.

* * *

"Okay I'm totally coming back here just for that restaurant" Musa said.

"Me too, I don't think it gets better than that" I said, as we reached the parking lot.

"Woah, dude, your car has a flat tire" Riven said.

Brandon's eyes narrowed at me.

"You little fucker" he said.

"Couldn't resist" I shrugged.

"How are you guys gonna get home?" Musa asked.

"Stella did you think this through?" Riven asked.

"Um, no not really" I said.

"Getting a new tire would take too long from where we are, so we'll get a tow truck to bring it back" Riven said.

"Which means you guys can drive with us!" Musa squealed.

"Wait what?!" I asked. "I wouldn't have done it if I knew that I'd have to be squished with him in a car"

"What, you thought we could just repair it in two seconds?" Brandon asked.

"Uh, yeah? Most cars carry a spare tire" I said.

"Well thanks to Riven here, that spare tire is in the middle of a lake" Brandon said.

"How?" Musa asked.

"Long story, trust me you do _not_ wanna know" Riven said.

"Okay, so can I drive?" I asked, as Riven took out the suitcases from the trunk and put them in Musa's car.

"I don't know about that, I mean-" Musa started.

"You guys can have the back to yourselves, and ya know, canoodle...or whatever else couples do" I said.

"Okay Stel can drive" Musa said.

"No way, I don't want them being all mushy in the back, plus, you're probably a crazy driver" Brandon said.

"I'm not!" I said.

"I'm driving, Musa's shotgun, and you two in the back, okay?" Riven said.

"But-"

"Not buts, get in" Riven said.

 _Great,_ I'm gonna be stuck next to Brandon for like the next 5 hours.

* * *

 _And I know, and I know, and I know_  
 _She gives you everything but boy I couldn't give it to you_  
 _And I know, and I know, and I know_  
 _That you got everything_  
 _But I got nothing here without you_

"So one last time, I need to be the one who takes you home. One more time, I promise after that, I'll let you go. Baby I don't care if you got her in your heart. All I really care is you wake up in my arms. One last time, I need to be the one who takes you home" I sang along...or screamed along.

"Will someone please shut her up" Brandon complained, covering his ears.

"Hey, my singing is really good" I said.

"It doesn't matter how good you are, you're still as loud as a bomb explosion and my ear drums can't take it anymore" he said.

"Well I'm bored, and I have nothing else to do" I said.

"How long have we got left?" Brandon asked.

"About 3 hours" Musa said.

"UGH" Brandon and I groaned simultaneously.

"Can we stop for food?" I asked.

"In about half an hour, because that's when we're stopping for gas" Riven said.

"Lets play never have I ever" Musa said.

"I'm not playing, because I'm a responsible driver who is too young and beautiful to die" Riven said.

"Okay, everyone put 10 fingers up." I said.

"I can't believe I'm doing this" Brandon sighed.

"I'll start. Never have I ever kissed a stranger" Musa said.

"Haha very funny Muse" I said sarcastically, as I put one down.

"Never have I ever ran a red light" Brandon said.

"Okay don't lie I'm pretty sure you guys have too" Musa said, putting a finger down.

"Nope" I said.

"Only yellow" Brandon said.

"Never have I ever kissed someone in the rain" I said.

"How'd you know?" Musa asked.

"Lucky guess" I shrugged. "But that would be so cool, I want to do that someday"

"Never have I ever broken someone's bones" Musa said.

"Oh come on, what is this, opposite day?" I asked, putting one finger down, as I looked over to Brandon who had one down too.

"I've only sprained, bruised or been very close to breaking people's body parts" Musa said. "Anyways, I'm guessing you guys are talking about each other?"

"Nope, when I was 9 Liam and I were play fighting and I slammed him on the floor and practically crushed his hand" Brandon said.

"I think that wall you broke counts too" I said.

"How about you Stel?" Musa asked.

"I tried out for cheerleading. They put me at the top of the pyramid. Enough said" I said.

"Poor cheerleaders" Brandon said.

"You have no idea. I also tried out martial arts when I was 11, got kicked out for slamming this girl Kelsey into a wall. But she deserved it" I said.

"Never have I ever gone vegan" Brandon said.

"Ha!" I said.

"It was only for a day" Musa whined.

"Still counts" Brandon said.

"Never have I ever flirted my way out of a parking ticket" I said.

"It was one time" Musa groaned.

"Okay I was expecting her but you?" I asked.

"It was a female officer, and hey, it worked. I mean who wouldn't fall for someone as hot as me" Brandon said.

"Calm your ego" I said.

"Hey, we should play a drinking game" Musa suggested.

"We're in a car" I said.

"We're not driving" she said.

"Good point. But still, bad idea" I said.

"You guys can shut up now, we're close to a McDonalds. And we're not using the drive thru because I'm too tired to keep driving" Riven said, parking shortly after getting gas.

"I'll drive" Brandon said, as we got out the car.

"I'm shotgun" I said.

"She just can't stay away from him, can she?" Musa said.

"No, I just want to be in charge of the music, and have space, and I'm letting you guys sit together so be grateful" I said.

"Jeez woman okay" Riven said.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" I asked.

"No." Brandon said.

"Are we there yet?" I asked.

"No." he said.

"Brandon?" I asked.

"Stella." he replied.

"Are we-" I started.

"NO" he interrupted.

"Okay okay" I said, trying to get comfy in my seat.

"Can we play a game?" I said.

"I'm driving, it's late, I'm tired, Musa and Riven are asleep, so no" he said.

"Aw, they're asleep on each other, so cute" I said, snapping a pic.

"Brandon" I asked.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I'm tired" I yawned.

"Go to sleep then" he said.

"I'm too cold" I said.

"There's a blanket on the rear dash" he said.

"Don't mind me" I said, undoing my seat belt as I tried to crawl through the small space between the front and back seats.

I'm pretty sure this is illegal.

"You're not going to fit" he said.

"Yes I am" I said, somehow squeezing through and almost kicking his face in the process. I grabbed the blanket and squeezed back through, then put my seat belt back on.

"Goodnight" I whispered, snuggling into the blanket before dozing off.

* * *

"Stella, hey. Wake up"

"What time is it?" I asked, opening my eyes. "Are we home?"

"It's almost midnight. No, we just dropped Riven off and now we're parked outside Musa's house." Brandon said.

"Oh. Can I go back to sleep?" I asked.

"Nope" he said, literally pulling me out the car.

"It would be better if we walked from here, so I don't need to give her car back in the morning" He said.

"Cool." I said. It's only a short distance from Musa's house to Brandon's, like a 10 minute walk.

"Here" he said, getting out our suitcases, then locking the car door and chucking the keys to Musa, who was standing at her door.

"Night Stel, see you in the morning" she said.

"Bye" I said, as we walked off.

Well this is awkward.

Just me and Brandon walking home in the middle of the night, the only sound coming from the loud wheels of our suitcases.

"So...you tired?" I asked.

"From driving 3 hours? Yeah" he said. "How are you still tired though? You slept a full hour"

"That's like nothing for me. Plus, I had to get up really early this morning to pack and stuff" I said.

"By the way, sorry for the tire, I didn't really think that one through" I said.

"It's fine. I still won the war either way" he said.

"How?" I asked.

"I poured coffee on you while you were asleep" he said.

"Brandon!" I said.

"I'm kidding. Seems like Liam's awake" Brandon said, as we finally reached home, and all the lights were on.

"Stella, you're back!" Liam said, opening the door as he gave me a bone-crushing hug.

"What, I don't get a welcome?" Brandon said.

"Welcome. We have much to discuss about distributing certain secrets to certain people" he said.

"Where's Meredith?" I asked.

"Probably on the couch watching America's Next Top Model or something" he said.

"Well I'm going straight to sleep because I'm jet lagged" I said.

"We travelled by car, and it was across a state not to a different continent" Brandon said.

"Still. I'm..car lagged? Whatever, goodnight" I said, before going straight up to my room and going to sleep.

* * *

 **Don't worry the next chapters will not be this late, because I've already written them, which is why I took all this time lol. I was stuck with this chapter and had ideas for future ones so I wrote them. The next chapter will have some secrets pouring out, so stay tuned. Anyways, what did you think about this chapter?**

 **Love you all xx**


	6. Back to Miami

**Hey. So good news I've written about 3 chapters in advance for this story and I'll write as many as I can, so I can still give you guys updates before I go back to Prison/Hell/School, which is next Tuesday :'(. Anyways, BB chapter will be up shortly it's almost done. This chapter is kinda short, but the next one will hopefully answer any questions. And if you're wondering when they hell they start to develop feelings for each other, it's gonna happen very soon ;)**

 **XSimplyBernieX: IKR little does he know he'll end up getting to one day.**

 **Pickles33: Thank youu :P**

 **cherry156: Thanks, hope you enjoy this chap.**

 **Stella2306: The brella moments are coming soon :D**

 **iradfs: Thanks xx**

 **shreyamishra1232: Thanks, enjoy the chapter.**

 **S: Updated ;)**

 **lovebooks200426: Enjoy the chap.**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V.**

So, it's been two months. Shortly after we came back from San Francisco, my mom and Angelo came back, and just in time because the wall between Brandon and I's room is totally fixed. Obviously, they came back with a big shiny trophy, and mom forced me to watch every single one of his games because you could see her in the background cheering. Some would say she was a bit crazy, but I say it was sweet, and I'm happy for them. I've got to know him better too, and he's like a second dad to me.

What else? Oh yeah.

Okay so the school kinda went crazy when they found out Brandon and I were friends. We promised not to tell anyone and we told our friends not to, but people noticed we weren't yelling at each other and stuff. So we planned this fake fight at lunch which was a huge bust because we ended up laughing right before the bell rang, leaving everyone bewildered. And obviously people were asking about it, and I'm not the best at explaining. Which is why Liam, being the gossip machine he is, went around telling people about the truce and how we were civil now, making it sound like some kinda strict business thing. One person that was extremely happy was the principal, because we haven't been to her office since...well, a long time. So yeah, that's whats been going on. Fast forward back to the present, where I am on my bed sleeping peacefully, well that is until someone interrupted my slumber.

"What is it?" I yawned, sitting up. I looked around and there was no one there. I raised a brow then looked at my phone which was full of messages from the others asking why I'm not replying.

Maybe because I was asleep, duh.

 _But then again, it is almost noon.._

"Stella answer your bloody phone before I come over there myself!" Brandon yelled, banging on the wall.

I shoulda known.

Yup, we still wall talk but it's not as violent - most of the time at least.

"I was asleep, jerk!" I yelled.

"I know, just be ready in 20 minutes if you want me to give you a ride coz I'm not waiting for you" he said.

"Wait ride to where?" I asked.

"Read your damn phone!" he yelled.

"okay okay" I yelled.

I looked on my phone, and everyone was meeting up at our favourite smoothie place.

And by everyone, I mean me, Musa, Riven, Bloom, Sky, Liam and Brandon. I unwillingly got up, brushed my teeth and had a quick shower then picked out a simple outfit. I wore a plain white crop top with black short overalls which were distressed at the bottom, with a pair of black converse. I put my hair in spacebuns and grabbed my phone, then went downstairs.

"Morning Mom, Angelo" I greeted.

"Morning? It's almost noon" my mom said, sipping her coffee.

"Yeah yeah, has anyone seen my leftover pizza?" I asked, searching the fridge.

"There were no leftovers, you ate it all yesterday, remember?" Angelo reminded.

"Oh yeah, that was last time my bad. Whatever, I'll just get something to eat when I'm there" I said.

"Where you going?" Mom asked.

"Smoothie bar, and I'll text you if I get late. Got to go!" I said, rushing to the door before Brandon leaves me behind.

"Wait...honey" Mom said.

"Yeah?" I asked, looking back.

"Nothing, um, just have fun and be safe okay?" she said.

"Okay love you bye" I said, before going outside an closing the door behind me.

" _Today_ would be great Solaria" Brandon said, referring to the speed of my walking.

"Shut up" I groaned, as I walked as fast as I could to his car.

Could ya blame me though? I mean I practically just woke up and he rushed me to get ready in 20 minutes, not easy for someone who likes to take things slow, like me.

"Whats up Stel" Liam said, looking at me for a brief second before gluing his eyes back to his phone, smiling in adoration.

"What's with you.." I asked, getting in the back seat next to him.

"Met a girl" he smirked.

"Aww, are you blushing" I teased. "What's she like? What's her name? What does she look like? Whats her-"

"Please don't start Stella" Brandon complained, starting the car.

"Start what? It's cute" I said.

"No, it's not. If you ask him one question, just ONE, he'll go on and on forever about her, it's annoying" he said.

"Is someone jealous?" I asked.

"Obviously he's jealous, I mean look at her, isn't she eye candy?" Liam said dreamily, showing me a pic of her.

"Woah, that is one hot chick. Okay no offence, you know I love you, but how on earth did _you_ get _her_?" I asked.

"I dunno, but that long, luscious, wavy auburn hair is like a silky waterfall that cascades down her perfect body, and those Sapphire eyes look like they hold the entire ocean in them, and-"

"Shut up, _please_ " Brandon begged.

"Leave him alone, can't you see he's in love" I said, swinging my arm around Liam's neck.

"So, whats she like?" I asked.

"God, she's perfect. She's kind, has a good sense of humour, loves animals, she plays the guitar, and she has the most angelic voice ever" he said.

"I'm surprised you don't have any dirty thoughts about her, especially when she looks like that" I said.

"Oh trust me I do, that's a whole new category if you wanna hear, I-"

"No No No please no, we're here okay thank god" Brandon said, quickly parking as he bolted out the car.

"Keep that in your head, okay?" I said, getting out too.

* * *

"Hey, Mustard I'm tryna tell a story here can you get off your phone and listen?" Musa asked.

"No can do woman, no can do" he replied.

"Whatever, okay so then- who's phone is that?" Musa asked, as a ring interrupted her.

"Sorry, mine, I'll just...oh, it's my dad" I said, answering it.

 **"Stella Bella, I haven't talked to you in a while! How's everything going?"**

"Good, how are you?" I asked.

 **"Great. See, I told you Gardenia wasn't that bad after all. So I called because I need to tell you something"**

"What is it?"

 **"Well, I thought your mother was going to tell you but she asked me to. It's coming close to...well...that time. You know what I'm talking about, right honey?"**

"Yeah" I replied softly, realising what he was talking about, just by his tone. Be calm, Stel. You're in public, be strong.

 **"Your mother and her boyfriend are coming back for a couple days, and I was thinking you should too. But I don't know about that now. I mean, you're so happy now, I don't want to ruin your mood. And I'm not sure if you're ready to come back, I don't want you to feel like we're forcing you to do anything you don't want to do..."**

"Dad! Trust me, I am ready. I _want_ to come back to Miami, it's only a few days I can handle it. I mean I was there for months after...you know.."

 **"Yes, but are you sure?"**

"Yeah, I am. Please, I can't miss it, you know he wouldn't want that."

 **"I just want you to be happy Stella-"**

"Then let me come, that will make me happy, please?"

 **"Okay, but you need to be here in Miami by tomorrow, so you have to take a flight tonight"**

"Today? That's so soon...but it's okay, I'll be there. Love you, can't wait to see you"

 **"You too, bye"**

"Stel, you okay?" Bloom asked, looking at me worriedly, as I snapped out of my trance.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just, I need to go back to Miami for a couple days, it's um...family business. But I need to go now, sorry" I said, standing up.

"I'll give you a ride" Musa offered.

"Nah, it's okay you guys stay here and enjoy yourselves. I'll walk" I said.

"You sure?" Sky asked. "It's no trouble"

"Yeah. Bye" I said, before leaving.

* * *

"Stella!" My dad smiled, hugging me, as I set down my bags. We were in the airport, and had just landed in Miami.

"I missed you so much" I said.

"Me too" he said.

"Luna" he said. "I assume you're Angelo, pleasure to meet you"

"You too" Angelo said, shaking hands.

After a long car ride, we were back at home. Well, our old home.

"Hey, is it okay if I go to the park? I just wanna clear my head" I asked.

"Take all the time you need honey" Dad said.

I stuffed my phone in my keys and walked outside.

Memories flooded my mind, good ones, bad ones, embarrassing ones, ones I'd wanted to forget, ones I wanted to hold onto forever...

I finally got to the park, where green leaves where blowing around in the soft breeze.

The sun was shining, birds were tweeting, kids were laughing, it was so tranquil, so beautiful. I found myself staring at an old oak tree, my special oak tree.

 ***Flashback***

 _The autumn wind blew against my grey knit sweater, as I pulled my beanie on tighter, sitting down, leaning on the bottom of tree._

 _"It's pretty huh? The colours and stuff" he said, stepping in a pile of leaves before joining me under the tree. He really did admire this park, especially at this time of the year. His emerald green eyes would spark up with excitement every time we'd come here, I always so curious as to why he loved it so much, I mean it is just a boring old park after all._

 _"Yeah, but I like the fall fashion more than the weather" I shrugged._

 _"Whatever" he said, as he grabbed a small round container out of his pocket and blowing bubbles._

 _"You brought bubbles, Luke? You're such a weirdo" I scoffed, rolling my eyes._

 _"Don't pretend you don't like it Stellie" he said, trying to blow them towards my face but failing as the wind carried them a different direction._

 _"I don't condone with such childishness, I'm 16 already" I said._

 _"And I'm 17 but I still love bubbles" he said, running his hands through his messy hair, which was a couple shades darker than mine, infact it was almost brown._

 _"No you don't, you just use them to annoy me" I said._

 _"True" he chuckled giving up. "But still, you should suck it all in, savour the moment. Because before you know it, you're gonna be a wrinkly old raisin and gonna be begging me to blow you bubbles"_

 _"Luke, can I ask you something?" I asked._

 _"Yeah" he said._

 _"You'll always be with me right?" I asked._

 _"I'll never leave your side Stella, I'll be with you till the day you die, and I'll always be here to protect you and look after you. Coz you need it since you're such a big baby" he said, pinching my cheeks_

 _"Way to ruin the moment" I said, swatting his hands off._

 _"I'm not kidding though..about the other part, not the baby part, even though that is like 99% true" he said, as we both burst into laughter._

 _"I love you, weirdo" I smiled._

 _"I love you too even weirder weirdo" he said, swinging his arm over my shoulder, as he kissed my cheek._

 ** _*end of flashback*_**

A single tear rolled down my cheek, as the words he told me replayed in my head.

 _"I'll never leave your side Stella"_

I sat down under that same tree, bringing my knees up to my face as I looked up at the clouds. Everything was clearer now, I never realised the beauty of this place whenever I came here with him. To him, it was the little things that counted. I appreciated it so much more now, but it's never the same without him.

 _"I'll be with you till the day you die"_

More tears pricked my eyes, as I buried my face into my arms.

 _"I'll always be here to protect you and look after you"_

"Baby, are you okay?" A familiar voice said.

"Mom? Why are you here?" I asked, looking up at her.

"I came looking for you, and figured you'd be here, you guys always loved this place" she said, offering hand out. I took it, standing up.

"You're not alone, you know that right? I'm here, we're all here. If this is too much for you then-"

"No mom, I want to be here. I'll be happy I came, and you will be too, trust me." I said.

"I'm so proud of you, of how you're handling this, you know that right" she said, hugging me.

"Yeah." I said.

"He's proud of you too" she said.

I sighed, wiping the tears off my now very red face, before smiling.

"I know"

* * *

 **Short chapter I know, but I had to add some clues. So who is this mysterious boy Stella loved so much? Why won't she tell her friends why she's going back? At least you've got a name and visual now lol. Everything will unwrap in the next chapter, might be a lil' sad, heads up. And more than one secret is likely to pour out, so stay tuned for that. Sorry for this crappy chapter bit the next will be longer :) Love you all xx**


	7. Birthday Parties and Flashbacks

**I started school last week, and I'm so done already. Anyways, I'll try to write as much as I can, but I've already got the next two chapters almost done for you so there won't be that much of a delay. I left you guys on a cliffy, ik. So I won't hold you back any longer, keep on reading ;)**

 **Alexis Peany: Thanks :)**

 **It's Stella: Keep reading to find out ;)**

 **cherry156: Well it'll all be revealed in this chapter :D**

 **XSimplyBernieX: Haha yup, it will happen sooner or later :P**

 **iradfs: You'll find out in this chap :)**

 **Pickles333: Thanks xx**

 **S: It's okay, hope you enjoy this chapter x**

 **lovebooks200426: Updated, hope you like it.**

 **alsasiya: Thanks :)**

 **shreyamishra1232: Thank you x**

* * *

 **Stella's P.O.V.**

 _Me - Sorry Liam, I can't make it back in time :(_

 _Liam - It's okay Stel, take your time, I get it, ly._

 _Me - Ly too, and you better save me a piece of cake :P_

That text convo? Well, I'm currently still in Miami, and It's Liam's birthday tomorrow. And I told him that I can't make it in time, but that's a lie, no freaking way am I missing one of my closest friend's 17th birthday. So, I've told everyone except him that I'm taking a flight tonight, and I'll make it to Gardenia early in the morning. Then Brandon is gonna take Liam out while Musa and I are at Brandon's house, preparing a surprise party. Everything I came here to do, I've done, and I'm ready to go back. I wasn't really in the best of a mood, but I can't let that spoil it for him.

"You all packed and ready to go?" Angelo asked, standing at the door.

"Yup." I said, closing my suitcase.

"You know Stella, I admire how considerate and selfless you are. Sacrificing your time here just so you can make it in time for your friend's birthday." he said.

"Yeah well, I know he'd be upset if I wasn't there, I mean who wouldn't" I joked, as he grabbed my suitcase, laughing along with me.

"Hey Angelo?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he said.

"Thanks" I said, hugging him.

"For what?" he asked.

"For being there for us. To be honest, my mom was a complete wreck up until she met you. I mean you could only imagine what someone would be going through after something that...crazy. I thought she'd be all moody for the rest of her life, but you seem make her happy, so thank you for that. And also for the food you cook, without you, I'd be eating ramen for every single meal." I smiled.

"You are one of a kind, kid" he chuckled, ruffling my hair, before leaving with my luggage to load the car. My phone suddenly vibrated, and I looked down and saw a text from Brandon.

 _Brandon - He agreed to go to that restaurant tomorrow, and it's an hour away. So one hour there, and two hours of driving there and back gives you 3 hours to prepare. Is that enough?_

 _Me - Yeah, perfect, thanks. My flight's gonna leave in an hour, and I'm about to go to the airport. See ya tomorrow._

"Time to go Stella, come on before we miss the flight" My mom said.

"Okay, let me say bye to dad first" I said, going to find him.

"Have a safe flight Stella" my dad said, giving me a hug.

"Thanks dad, I'll text you when we land. Love you" I said.

"Love you too" he said, before I went to go to the car.

* * *

"Finally, we're back home" My mom said, exhausted, as she opened the door. It was currently 12:30 pm, and we just got home. Brandon's taking Liam out at 2:00, so I have an hour and thirty minutes to spare.

"Well I'm gonna take a shower and then go to the store with Musa to get stuff, then when he leaves we can go prepare" I said.

"Are you sure? You can sleep for a bit you know" My mom said.

"I know, but trust me I'm fine, I just need a gallon of coffee" I said.

"I admire your enthusiasm Stel. Well have fun, I'm going to sleep" My mom said.

"I rushed upstairs, quickly unpacked my stuff so my room wasn't a mess, then I took a shower. I changed into a burgundy tank top with white writing on it, a pair of dark grey drawstring shorts and white converse. I left my hair wavy, and grabbed my phone to call Musa and tell her to pick me up.

After about 20 minutes, she got here and we left to go to the mall and get everything we needed. Once we got back, Brandon and Liam had already left. Musa started decorating, and I was making the food. Yes, me.

Obviously, we ordered loads of pizza and a big chocolate cake and all that, but I wanted to try out this lasagna recipe that Angelo gave me, it's a family secret. And yeah, I know, if I leave it out everyones gonna dive in, so I'm gonna leave it in the fridge so he can enjoy it himself.

"Stel, come here and give me a hand will ya!" Musa yelled from the living room. She was golden sticking letters on the wall, spelling out 'happy birthday mustard'.

Typical Muse.

"Whatcha need?" I asked.

"Can you pass me the sticky tack?" she asked.

"It's literally 3 inches away from you" I said, before chucking it at her.

"Also can you stand back and make sure they're straight?" she asked.

"Okay" I said, moving back a bit. "The T and U are a bit crooked, to the left a bit...yeah that's perfect"

"Done, finally" she said, hopping down. I looked around, and it looked pretty good. There were lots of helium balloons floating around, streamers, and confetti cannons and those party horns at the ready. We told everyone to come at 4:45, which is 15 minute before they're supposed to come back. And it's already 4:15.

"Shit" I exclaimed.

"What?" Musa asked.

"I forgot to get him a present!" I said.

"Well Bloom will be here in a couple minutes, she can go with you to the mall to get something, while I wait here for people to arrive. You know teenagers, this place will fill up quickly.

"Okay, she's here, make sure he doesn't come back!" I said, rushing out.

"He won't" she said.

"Stella, you're back!" Bloom said, hugging me. "Gosh I missed you, you know, I forgot how hard it was to control Musa, can't believe I used to do it alone before we met you"

"Yeah? Well she's all good now" I said.

"How are you? Did you do everything you needed to? I mean you looked pretty upset at the smoothie bar" she said.

"I'm fine, trust me. Now, we have half an hour before Liam gets back and I need to get a present for him, so lets go!" I said, getting in her car.

* * *

"Are you done now? I think you've got him enough" Bloom laughed, as we walked out of a store.

"Oh, no those snapbacks were actually for me, but yeah I'm done" I said.

There's still something at the back of my head I'm forgetting.

Wait a minute...

"Bloom?" I asked.

"Hm?" she said.

"What happened with the girl Liam was talking to?" I asked.

"He's still obsessed with her, and she likes him too. But he hasn't seen her in real life since they met for the first time." she said.

"We should invite her to the party" I said.

"We don't know her phone number though" Bloom said, as we sat down near the food court.

"So? We're girls, lurking and internet stalking is what we do best, we could find her in a second" I said. What's her name?"

"Sierra. Sierra Davidson." she said.

"Bingo" I said, finding her Instagram. I messaged her, and she replied as soon as she saw Liam.

 _Aw, young love._

"She said to send her the address, which I did. So I got him tons of presents, made him lasagna, _and_ got him a hot potential girlfriend. Boy, am I a good friend" I said.

"That you are. It's almost 4:50, we should get back now. When did she say she's coming?" Bloom asked.

"She's near this mall now, let's give her a ride" I said, texting her to meet us at the parking lot.

We went down to the parking lot and met her, and Liam was totally right about her. She's a really nice person, infact, she knew about his birthday, not so much the party, but still got him tickets to see some game, which must be her way of asking him out.

I ship this so hard. Siam? Lierra?

We drove back to Brandon's house and Musa was right, it was full of people, but she's too controlling to let to get too crazy.

"So, this is the notorious Sierra?" Musa said, taking a good look at her. Poor girl looked kinda scared, I mean anyone would be under Musa's glare.

"Liam's so dumb if he hasn't asked you out yet" Musa said, causing her to relax. "I'll give him a push if you want"

"No need, she's gonna do it tonight" I said.

"Bold, I like it" Musa said.

Suddenly, I got a text.

 _Brandon - We're about to take a turn and we'll be on the road of my house, make sure he doesn't see you._

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP AND GET INSIDE HE'S COMING!" I yelled, as everyone rushed in. We closed the door, turned the lights off, and stayed silent for a minute or so, until the door opened and the lights switched on. Confetti and glitter exploded everywhere.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" everybody said, but I yelled, because I like making quite the entrance.

Well not entrance, but like...comeback? You know what I mean.

"Stella?" he said, literally gobsmacked, as he ran up to hug me.

"Happy birthday Liam" I smiled, ruffling his hair.

"I thought you couldn't make it" he said.

"You really think I'd miss your 17th birthday?" I asked, as the music started playing and people started...well, partying.

"You know, Stel practically planned this whole thing, infact, she hasn't got a wink of sleep since she came back from the airport since she was so busy planning it for you" Musa said.

"You gave up _sleep_ for me? Damn I feel special" he said.

"Yeah well that's what Starbucks is for" I said.

"And I assume that was Musa's idea" he asked, his tone unamused, pointing to the 'happy birthday mustard' banner thing.

"Yup" She grinned proudly.

"That's not all." I said, before calling Sierra in.

"You..she...woah" he breathed.

"Have fun" I said, tapping his shoulder.

* * *

"Damn it" I huffed, as my phone died. It was almost 10pm and pretty much everyone was drunk. I was bored out of my mind, and too tired to drink or anything. I decided to go upstairs and look around. To my surprise, no one was there, so I decided to knock on Brandon's room.

"If you're looking for a place to make out or bang, try the other rooms"

"It's me you dumbass" I said, rolling me eyes.

"Who's with you?" he asked.

"No one" I said.

"Fine, come in" he said.

"What aren't you down there? I though you were the king of partying?" I asked, shutting the door behind me. He was just on his laptop on his couch, eating a bag of cheetos.

"I don't know, I'm not really feeling it." he said. "How about you?"

"I'm too tired" I yawned.

"Take a nap then" he said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, go ahead" he said.

"Yay!" I squealed, literally jumping into his bed and snuggling the covers.

"I get it okay, you're excited to be in my bed, who wouldn't be" he said cockily.

"Shut up, I'm excited about finally getting some sleep" I said, closing my eyes, before drifting to sleep.

* * *

"Stella"

"Don't shoot!" I yelled.

"Stella, wake up!"

Right before he pulled the trigger, I woke up, shaking, sweating, screaming. My heart was pumping rapidly, and I was on the verge of crying.

I shot up, and saw Brandon sitting on the bed, looking at me worriedly.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly. After a short pause I finally spoke.

"No" I answered truthfully, before breaking out into tears.

Fuck. Well done Stel, you're crying in front of Brandon. Way to embarrass and make a fool of yourself...

All of a sudden, I felt his arms around me, holding me closely.

Is he _hugging_ me?

But...why? He doesn't care.

Is this some kind of alternate universe?

"Tell me what's going on" he said.

"Nothing, I'm fi-"

"Don't say you're fine, it doesn't take a genius to know something's bothering you. Just tell me" he said.

Should I tell him?

 _No. I can't. Out of all people, why should I tell him? I should tell my best friends, I should-_

"Trust me. Whatever you say will stay between us, I promise" he said, pulling back and looking into my eyes.

"It's...a long story." I said.

"Then start from the beginning" he said. I took a deep breath, before telling him something I haven't told anyone, and I mean _anyone,_ else..

"The reason I moved here, the reason my parents are divorced, the reason I went back...is because I had a brother. He's a year older than me, and his name is Luke. Luke Solaria." I said. "A year ago, he was dating this girl, Alexia. He really loved her, but she didn't give a damn about him. I tried to warn him, but he was too blinded by love to see it. She was cheating on him, and when he found out, things got crazy...he took a bullet for that ungrateful bitch."

 **Flashback**

 _"Hm, that one looks cute...but then again, the pattern is kinda tacky" I said to myself, as I scrolled down on the website. I was in the middle of online shopping in my room, until I heard Luke punch the wall. I stayed silent, and listened to him yell a series of curse words._

 _Something's definitely not right._

 _I heard him slam the door, and I ran behind him, but I didn't let him see me, because he'd definitely force me to go back home. I saw him get in his car, and so I got into mine and followed him. He pulled up outside this dodgy warehouse place, and I ran after him._

 _"Stella? What are you doing here? Go home, it's too dangerous" he said._

 _"No, why are you here? What the heck is going on?" I asked._

 _"Nothing, go home, now." he said._

 _"Fine" I sighed, getting in my car, as he walked inside. As soon as he was out of sight, I quickly ran out and followed him again, and I was outside a door, eavesdropping._

 _There was a violent argument going on, between Luke, some dude, and...Alexia? His fuckface of a girlfriend._

 _I listened a bit more, and from what I heard, she was cheating on him. But he didn't believe it was her fault._

 _Why? Why is he so freaking naive? Of course it was her fault, she's using the fact that he loves her against him, to control him._

 _Wait a minute...the other dude must be that guy Alexia was cheating on Luke with..._

 _I peeked, and saw him pointing a gun at Luke, and Alexia was on the other guys side._

 _He pulled the trigger, and I ran in, but it was too late. The booming gunshot echoed through the room, piercing through his chest at lightning speed._

 _Oh my god...he shot my brother...in front of my eyes._

 _"LUKE!" I screamed, running to him. I kneeled down, putting his head on my lap. Blood was pouring out of his wound, and I tried to stop it but there was no use._

 _"I told you not to come here" he whispered, as tears streamed down my red face like a waterfall._

 _"This is your fault, you fucking slut." I snapped at Alexia._

 _"Shut up, little girl. I wasn't the one dumb enough to risk my life for a girl" she retorted, her nasally, high pitched voice just fuelling my anger. It was like there was a fire burning in me, and every word she spoke was like gasoline, adding to the flames. My jaw clenched, and I was about to explode like a bomb. I wanted to rip this whore's head off, I wanted to strangle her with her own fake ass hair extensions. Luke didn't deserve this, he was nothing but loyal, kind and loving to her._

 _What was she? A fucking careless little rat. She only used him for when she wanted attention, and she'd manipulate him, luring him further into her evil trap._

 _The rage consuming me was like a deadly poison, like a volcano about to erupt. And her bitchy attitude aggravated me further._

 _How the hell could she let that jackass shoot him?_

 _Oh yeah, I forgot, she doesn't have a single drop of compassion or kindness or even pity in her blood._

 _I looked up, and saw the gun now pointed at me._

 _No. I can't let him shoot me. I won't let him win. He won't get away with it._

 _Luke, with all the strength he had left, pointed at his jacket pocket, which contained a gun. I grabbed it as fast as I could, and not out of intentional revenge, but out of self defence, shot the guy in the head, making him fall to the ground instantly. He managed to shoot right before, but thank god he missed._

 _It scared off Alexia, who ran for her life. She must've left town, because I never saw her after that day._

 _The fact that I had just killed a murderer didn't even hit me. My brother was dying in my arms, and I couldn't save him._

 _I looked back down, running my fingers through his caramel hair, which was now streaked with the blood from my hands. My other hand remained on his crimson chest, in attempt to lessen the bleeding. I could feel his hopeless heart beating desperately, getting slower and slower._

 _"You're gonna be alright, I promise" I cried, biting my quivering lip, unsure if the words I was speaking were true. I knew deep inside that his time was up, because all of a sudden, every memory with him, even the good ones, were painful. They cut through me like a knife, because that's all they were; memories. And this would be the last one we had together, starting off in a fight, ending in this tragedy. I looked into his eyes, which glistened with guilt and pain. But they only reminded me of what I was going to lose. I wasn't ready for this._

 _"You have to be...y-you can't leave me. You t-told me you'd be w-with me f-forever" I stuttered, hoping and praying he'd make it._

 _"I will. I'll look over you until the day you die" he smiled weakly, as his breath got slower._

 _"No, no, no, n_ _o, no. Please stay with me, please Luke" I whimpered, clutching his hand, which was as cold as ice._

 _This has to be a dream, it can't be real..._

 _"Take care of yourself, okay?" he mumbled, as his eyes started to get heavy "I love you so much, Stellie"_

 _Those were his last words, before his heart finally gave up on him, as he lay dead in my arms._

 _"I love you too" I whispered._

 ** _*end of flashback*_**

"Oh my god Stella. I'm so sorry" Brandon said, looking at me with sympathy, sadness and concern.

"It's okay. I went back to Miami because it was his death anniversary. My dad didn't think I was ready, but I wanted to go because I know he wouldn't want me to be stuck in the past. The reason I woke up screaming is because I had a nightmare of it replaying in my head, and I just felt so useless because I was watching it, and couldn't do a damn thing. I felt so guilty, like there was a way I could've warned him, saved him, instead of standing there listening. Anyways, after I called the cops, I told them my brother shot the other guy in the head, and I got there when he was already dead, because I was only 16, I was completely terrified of anyone finding out I shot a guy, even though he was the murderer of my brother. I had a really close bond with him, and it scarred me, especially since it was in front right of my eyes and I couldn't stop it. After that, my parents started blaming each other, which later on caused them to get a divorce. Since they were so caught up in a fight, I had nowhere to turn. I started getting into gang activity and all sorts of dangerous shit, until one day, I had a near death experience" I said, lifting my shirt a bit, to reveal a small scar on the right side of my stomach, above my hip. It was bigger but most of it healed, only leaving a small scar.

"Damn. Well I personally think scars are hot. Shows you're a fighter" he said.

"Thanks" I laughed. "Some dude tried to stab me in the gut, but I took him down, while I was bleeding and all. Which did get me a lot of street cred at the time, but I didn't care. The doctors said it managed to somehow dodge a major artery, and if it didn't, I probably would have died of blood loss. After that I got a therapist, and she helped me through it. Later on my parents divorced, my mom came here and my dad stayed in Miami, and I stayed with him. But then they decided that I'd be better off here, away from that place. So that's the story of why I moved here. Insane to say the least?".

"You know what. Since you shared all of that with me, I should share my deepest secret with you" he said. "Do you know why I'm slightly less kind to girls?"

"Slightly less kind? Brandon, you're fucking brutal to them. They're literally intimidated by you. Damn, you even promised that you'd ruin my life, which never happened by the way" I said.

"Because it's different now. So, back to the story. When I was 16, I was dating this girl named Mitzi. I really loved her, but I didn't realise she was only using me. One day, I walked in on her hooking up with one of my closest friends at the time. It left me completely shattered, and kinda hot headed I guess. Mitzi just happened to leave town, and later on the other guy did too. I didn't really have the motivation to do anything, which is why I quit football, even though I loved it. It just struck me - how blind I was, and how all that time, it was all fake, all lies. I wasn't just betrayed by her, I was played by my best friend too. I haven't dated anyone since that, and I guess I just couldn't trust anyone, specifically girls so I was distant and cold to anyone who tried to talk to me. Not even Sky or Riven know the full story, only Liam and now you too." he said.

"I'm sorry" I said, not really not knowing what to say, as I lay my hand on his, being the one to comfort him this time.

I could actually see the agony and pain in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hide it or act nonchalant about it. I've never really seen him this vulnerable, and for some weird reason, it was getting me sad too.

Jeez, I did not expect that, like, _at all._

I mean, I know that it's still no excuse to think all girls are like that and treat them that way, but he was only hurting, and I get that. I felt like I actually understood him for once. I mean Mitzi was just like Alexia except worse since she chased his best friend.

"Stella?" he asked.

"Hm?" I mumbled.

"You know it wasn't your fault right?" he asked.

"Yeah...but, I shouldn't have let him go in there in the first place. I should've called the cops before it got out of hand, I had a bad feeling about it at home, and I was right." I said.

"You were brave enough to follow him into some random warehouse, and then run into a room, risking your life, to try and help him, regardless of the fact there was an armed guy who could have killed you in an instant" he said.

"But I shot him, I freaking killed that guy Brandon. No one knows that, not even my parents. Only you, and Alexia. What if she told someone?" I asked.

"She was probably too scared to tell anyone, because then they'd know she was at the crime scene and since she got out of town it would be worse on her part. Plus, it was self defence, not murder. You saved more lives than you took." he said.

"True. You know, I feel relieved finally telling someone, thanks" I said.

"No problem. So, do you wanna go back down there and get wasted with everyone else, or would you rather stay up here and watch me finish school stuff" he said.

"I'll stay up here. I can help you if you want" I said.

"It's science homework" he said.

"I'm helping" I said, my face lighting up.

"I've always wondered, why do you love science so much?" he asked.

"Believe it or not, I used to hate it, but Luke always liked it. He used to help me at it because I was shit at it, and once he took me to this lab. Everything was blowing up and setting on fire, which is when I realised it was pretty fucking cool. Ever since then, I've loved it" I said.

We ended up just talking for a long, long time.

* * *

"Hey Brandon, last night was so fun, you sh- _Stella_?" someone said.

I flickered my eyes, stretched my arms, and soon realised that I was in Brandon's room, more specifically - his _bed_.

Ah fuck, we must've fell asleep talking.

The person speaking was Liam, who had just walked in, and was clearly surprised. I saw Brandon sound asleep only a couple inches away from me.

 _Aw, he's kinda cute when he's asleep..._

Wait, no, I did _not_ just think that. Come on Stel you're better than that.

"You weren't there last night, so I though you left early. Apparently not..." he said, with a smug grin on his face.

"I can explain, we-" I started.

"Trust me, I totally get it. We all do dumb shit when we're drunk. I don't really blame you Stella, and who am I to judge" he said.

I looked back at Brandon, who was waking up now.

"Morning" he yawned.

"Anyways, you guys won't believe what happened to me. SIERRA. FUCKING. ASKED. ME .OUT." he yelled, shaking my shoulders simultaneous to each word.

"Good for you" I said, holding my head, trying not to get dizzy.

"Yeah. I guess I'm just that irresistible, huh? So what happened with you guys. You don't have to give me details, but you two are the last people on Earth I'd imagine to be hooking up." he said.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you think we hooked up?" Brandon asked.

"Uh yeah? Pretty obvious, why else would you be in bed together" he asked.

"You and Stella sleep in bed together sometimes, that doesn't mean you guys bang, now does it?" Brandon asked.

"That's different, we're best friends so it's fine. But you guys, that's just sketchy" he said.

"Well we weren't doing anything. I came up here because I got tired, and fell asleep. And then Brandon, too prideful to sleep on the couch, decided to sleep on the bed too. Trust me, nothing weird here" I lied.

Well most of it was true, I didn't include the full story. That's not lying, right?

"On second thought, that's much more believable than you guys, ya know, doing it. Just sounds like typical Stella, barging into someone's room, stealing their bed, and then Brandon trying to steal it back" Liam said.

"Yeah, see? No talking, nothing physical, or emotional happened, it was just Stel being too lazy to back to her own house" Brandon said.

"Cool. Anybody want pancakes?" he asked, dropping the subject.

"Ooh yes please" I squealed, jumping out of bed, shoving Liam out the way and literally bolting down the stairs.

"By the way, I tried that lasagne you made. Pretty good" He said, following after me.

"I know right. Hey, is there any cake left over?" I asked.

"In the very back of the fridge, I didn't want bitches stealing it so I hid it there" he said.

I opened the fridge, moved some things around, and finally found it.

Damn, it's so beautiful. Honestly, why is chocolate cake so sexy?

Grabbing a spoon, I dug in.

And holy _frickin_ moly. It was like pure heaven in my mouth. I've been blessed, hallelujah.

"She's making out with the spoon again.." Liam sighed to himself.

"I'm not making out with it, I'm just, uh...devouring this perfection in the form of cake" I said.

"That's enough, you can have more after breakfast" he said, grabbing the cake and putting it back, and then snatching the spoon.

"Hey!" I pouted.

"By the way, I need your help. You're a girl" he said.

"Thanks for noticing" I said.

"Is it obvious when a guy is trying to impress you? Or is it cute?" he asked, flipping the pancake.

"If you're looking for relationship questions, go ask Musa or Bloom. Because if you haven't noticed, I'm very much single" I said.

"You are...it's about time we change that" he said.

"I don't need a guy, I have pizza" I said.

"Come on Stel, be realistic" he said.

"I am! And don't you ever try and set me up, because I'll just scare the boy away with all my food puns" I said.

"True, you do tend to scare the male species" he said.

"Hey, are you trying to say I have no game? Because I do, boys are lined up begging for me to be with them, I'm just too good for them" I said cockily.

"Whatever, just eat your pancakes" he said, tapping my head before handing me my plate.

* * *

 **So. What did you think? Was that an interesting backstory? If you thought Luke was an ex or something, don't worry, I kinda tried to make it look like that on purpose, for the element of surprise xD So you're probably thinking, they're gonna fall in love now, and all that. But no, not just yet. Well, they might've caught some feelings, but don't realise until later, so you do have to wait, but not that long.**


	8. Down with a fever

**Stella's P.O.V.**

"Stel. Hey. Snap out of it!"

"Huh?" I mumbled, blinking. I looked around and realised I was in History class, and Musa was whisper yelling at me.

"Dude, you sure you're okay? I mean you've been kinda weird all morning, and you keeping going off into LaLa land" she said.

"I'm fine, just a bit light headed" I said, before coughing a bit.

"Fine? Sure you are, lean forward kiddo" she said.

"Okay.." I said, as I leaned towards her. She put her hand on my forehead then pulled it back.

"Woah, your hotter than a barbecue" she said.

"Thanks for the compliment" I grinned.

"I'm serious, you're sick Stel." she said.

"Am not." I said.

"Are too" she said. I was about to argue but the bell interrupted us.

"Lunch, finally. I haven't eaten all day" I said, stuffing my books in my bag.

"So that's what wrong" she said, as we left the classroom.

"Nothings wrong, okay." I said.

Okay, I was lying.

I was feeling a bit tired, dizzy, my throat was hurting, my eyes were burning and I was a tad bit nauseous. But that's nothing much, right? I was just ignoring it, because I thought it would go away sooner or later.

"You wanna go home?" Musa asked.

"Nah, I have science for the rest of the afternoon. Can't miss that" I said, grabbing a burger from the cafeteria line.

"You're such a cute little nerd" she said.

"What up people" Liam said, joining us, as he swung his arm around my shoulder.

"DON'T TOUCH HER YOU IDIOT IT COULD BE CONTAGIOUS!" she yelled, making him literally fly back. Not because of what she said, but how freaking loud she said it.

"First of all, _mean_. Second, it's not like I have ebola, he's not gonna get sick" I said.

"Why what's she got?" Liam asked.

"I dunno, but she's sick and I know it." Musa said, as we went to our usual table.

"Who's sick?" Bloom asked.

"Nobody" I groaned.

"Stella" Musa said.

"I'm...absolutely...fine" I said, between coughs.

Okay, that was just bad timing and irony.

"Whatever you have, give it to me. Because I got a double period of Geography" Bloom said.

"It's probably a cold, it'll go away" I said, taking a bite out of my burger. I put it down and then buried my head into my arms

"What did I miss?" Brandon asked, sitting down on the only empty seat, which was next to mine.

To be completely honest, Musa was right. I was acting unusual, but it wasn't this cold or ever or whatever that was causing it.

This is going to sound completely crazy, but...how do I put this? Well. Brandon's been taking over my brain for the past week. And he won't leave.

Ever since Liam's party, I just can't look at Brandon the same way. Something about the way I saw him changed that night.

I have no idea what it is, but it's been bugging me all bloody week.

I can't seem to get him out of my head, and it's so strange. And whenever I'm around him, I feel all weird.

Plus, the fact that he's literally the only person who knows my secrets makes it even more weird. Although it felt better talkin about it, I'm baffled as to why I told _him_. Like, Musa, Bloom and Liam are my best friends, they deserve to know. And they will, I don't know when, but they will. Eventually.

Anyways, I just feel so curious, like there's way more to him. Not secret wise, but...I dunno, personality wise? It's as if I wanna get to know him or something because he seems like an interesting person, but then I remember it's Brandon Shields we're talking about here.

We just went from being enemies to friends in one night, back in San Fran, but after the party, it seemed different.

I felt like I cared about him more than I knew. And maybe he did too. I mean the old Brandon would probably tell me to take my whining ass and go cry about it to someone else, ya know. Ugh, I don't know. This is so confusing.

"Someone feel her pulse" Riven said, interrupting my thoughts.

"I'm not dead, moron" I said, which came out muffled since my face was still squished between my arms and the table.

"I've got it! You're preggo" Musa said.

"Try again" I said, unamused, as I lifted my head up and continued to chew on my burger.

"Shark week?" she asked.

"Nope." I said.

"Food poisoning?" she asked.

"You know, it could be the casserole Liam made" I said.

"Rude." Liam said.

"I'm kidding." I said.

"Did you make any physical contact with Mr Jefferson?" Riven asked.

"No, why?" I asked.

"He's literally a walking talking virus, gets sick all the damn time" Musa asked.

"Geez, is it me or is it boiling hot in here" I said.

"Take off your sweatshirt" Brandon said.

"I can't" I said.

"Why not?" Liam asked.

"I'm not wearing anything underneath it" I said.

"Well why'd you wear a sweatshirt in the first place if you were this hot?" Musa asked, as I started to fan myself with whatever I could find, which included plastic forks.

 _What can I say? I improvise._

"I was freezing cold this morning" I said.

"You have a high temperature for sure Stel" Bloom said, as she felt my forehead.

"And I'm being boiled like an egg in this sweatshirt" I said, leaning back in my seat.

"I have a spare shirt in my locker, you can wear that" Musa said. "And don't worry, it's not the one that makes you look like you had a boob job, I know you hate that one"

"What's so bad about that?" Liam asked.

"Perverts. Everywhere you look, perverts" I said.

"By the way, since I'm kindly lending you a shirt could you give me English text copy. I didn't bother to highlight all they key phrases, and you know how much Mr I worship Shakespeare - aka Mr Robinson, loves his similes and metaphors and whatever else" Musa said.

"Sure. You're lucky I actually bothered to highlight everything, mine isn't due until next Monday - and it's Friday. Just remember not to throw it away coz I need it." I said.

"I will. Which story did you do anyway?" she asked.

"Romeo and Juliet" I said.

"Oooh, someone's feelin' the love" she smirked, nudging me.

"No" I laughed, rolling my eyes playfully. "The only reason I did it was because my teacher told us to watch the movie of whichever story we were doing, so I thought about which one I should waste 2 hours of my time on. Then I saw Leonardo DiCaprio was in it and I was like Romeo and Juliet it is"

"Did you even pay attention to the movie, or were you two busy staring at Romeo?" Musa asked.

"I had to re-watch it because I missed the whole plot and key words and emotional vocab and all that crap. Do you know how hard it is to NOT focus on young Leo?" I asked.

"Trust me, I do" she said.

* * *

I was currently in the middle of Science, and we were in our groups, doing experiments and tests for our project thing, the teacher wasn't in the room, you know, the usual. Before lunch ended, I changed into Musa's white and black graphic tee, that actually went with my outfit, which were black ripped jeans and black and timberlands. I was feeling a bit better, I mean I wasn't as hot, but I was still feeling sick.

"Can someone open a window? The fumes are getting to my head" I asked.

"Are you sure it's the 'fumes'? I mean, we're literally just using metal and water, we haven't even started with the bunsen burners and gas and all that." Sky said.

"Right. It's probably a headache or something" I sighed, bringing my knees up to sit cross-legged on the chair.

I decided to stay out of the first couple of experiments because my head was really messing with me, and I trying not to fall asleep on the spot.

"You wanna go to the nurse?" Brandon asked, sitting next to me.

"Nah, she'll probably give me an ice pack" I said.

"True. Did you not get enough sleep or something?" he asked.

"I did sleep late but not late enough to make me this tired. I just wanna take a nap because my head is killing me" I said, looking up. I realised that a good amount of people were staring at us, and as soon as I glared at them, they went back to what they were doing.

"So, you doing anything this weekend?" I asked, trying to start up a convo.

"Nope. Liam's got a date with a certain someone tonight though." he said.

"Oh yeah, he told me that he and Sierra are official now." I said, as my phone dinged. I looked down and saw a text from my mom.

"What about you? You got plans?" he asked.

"Apparently not. My mom and Angelo have a last minute business meeting in San Diego and will be gone until Sunday." I said.

"Well you should come over for dinner tonight." he said.

"Really? I don't wanna be any trouble" I said.

"Trust me, my mom would kill me if she found out I knew you were sick and still left you all alone, practically dying in your house" he said.

"I'm not dying, but fine. Give me a ride though, because my legs are killing me too" I said.

"Geez, pushy - but okay, only coz you're on the verge of fainting. One thing, you have to wait for me, I have an hours detention" he said

"What? Why?" I asked.

"My history teacher has an attitude problem, she told us to discuss our opinions then told me off for being 'disruptive', so obviously I tried to argue my way out of it because I didn't do anything wrong and then she gave me detention" he said.

"Well what am I supposed do for an hour?" I asked.

"I don't know, just go to the library or something" he shrugged.

"Put it out, quick!" Sky said, as a small fire started on the table.

"Maybe this will- oh shit, okay nevermind" Riven said, throwing various liquids at it which only made it flare up more.

"Move aside" I sighed. "All you gotta do is turn off the gas, which is the source, then use water, not rubbing alcohol, that only increases the ignition since it's flammable. It's common sense dude, really"

"How was I supposed to know the difference, they all look the damn same!" Riven said.

"The labels, duh?" I said, as the bell rang.

"Meet me in the history corridor in an hour" Brandon said, grabbing his bag.

"Okay" I said, packing my stuff up.

I texted Musa and Bloom before going to the silent part of the library, behind the bookshelves in the back, where there were beanbags. I finished off some homework while listening to some music for about 30 minutes or something, until someone interrupted my quiet time.

"Stella, I was actually looking for you. Can I have a word?" someone said. I looked up and it was my maths teacher.

 _Well this can't be good. Anything to do with math is never good. Math is evil. It's the devil's subject._

"Um yeah sure" I said, taking my headphones out.

"I was looking through the grades, and you're really slacking. I know you're smarter than this, and you can do a lot better if you tried. You're currently at a D, and at your level you should be at a B+. I want you to pass, and I have a suggestion, I strongly recommend you should take it." he said. "You'll have to stay after school on Mondays and Wednesdays for an hour for tuition"

"Tuition? Really? Isn't there something else I could do?" I asked.

"I'm sorry Stella, it's either that or you find yourself a private tutor" he said.

"I'll get a tutor then" I said.

"It has to be someone in this school, otherwise you'll get all this irrelevant information that won't help you. My top students are Madison Evans, Dylan Peters and Brandon Shields. You should ask one of them" he said.

"Okay, I will. Thanks" I said, putting my headphones back in as he left.

First, we have Madison Evans. Or as everyone calls her, Maddie. She's really smart and all, but she's also a major bitch. She already hates me for throwing a hot dog at her face. It was an accident by the way, everyone bet I couldn't throw it in a bin that was a couple metres away, and I said I could.

And before you think I wasted it, I didn't, I already dropped it on the floor.

Anyways, I threw it, and she just happened to slip on something right in front of the bin and it hit her mid-fall, right in the face. So she clearly wouldn't even consider helping me.

Second, we have Dylan Peters. Football player, part time jock, part time smartass. Extremely loud. Like, really loud. He kinda scares me to be honest, I mean the last time I talked to him, I almost fell off my damn chair.

Plus, he always makes lame jokes with peoples names, one time he called me Stella Novella, Cinderstella, and Stella Mozzarella all in one day. Which is why I never talked to him again. I mean, why rhyme my name with an Italian Cheese?

Anyways, moving on. That leaves...Brandon.

It would be kinda weird asking him - and ironic, since he used to tease me in Maths. But if I don't ask him, I'm gonna fail, or have to go after school tuition - which I refuse to do. Whatever, I'll ask him later on.

I looked at the time, and the hour was almost over.

Damn, that went by fast.

I stuffed my books back into my bag, then went to the history corridor to find Brandon leaning on the door, waiting.

"How was detention" I asked.

"Eh. How was the library" he asked.

"Eh" I shrugged, mocking him.

* * *

"Stella, so nice to see you" Isabel said, hugging me.

"Nice to see you too. I'm sorry for troubling you, I just-"

"Oh honey it's no trouble, really. You're always welcome here. By the way, are you feeling okay?" she asked, feeling my forehead. I was about to respond and deny being sick like I was all day, but Brandon beat me to it.

"She has a fever, poor thing" he said, tapping my head.

"Aw, I'll make you some herbal tea. Brandon, be nice" she said, going to the kitchen.

"I'm always nice" he said. "What do you wanna watch?"

"Anythings fine" I said, sitting on the couch.

"By the way, Mr Rogers paid me a visit today. Said I need to get a tutor, and recommended 3 people" I said.

"Really? Who?" he asked.

"Maddie, Dylan and you" I said.

"Who'd you pick?" he asked.

"Maddie hates me and Dylan's kinda, you know, obnoxious. So I was wondering if...maybe, like, you know..." I started.

"Yes?" he said.

"If you could...um, if it was okay with you that is...if you could possibly.." I stuttered. God Stel, get your words out!

"Yes..?" he smirked.

Is he enjoying this?

You know what, straight up. Just say it.

"Tutor me" I said.

"Is that a request or an order?" he asked, confused by my tone.

"Will you do it or not?" I asked.

"Hm...I'll have to think about it" he said.

"Brandon" I whined. "I'll tell your mom"

"Okay theres no need to go to such harsh conditions" he said.

"Tell me what?" Isabel asked, coming in with a tray.

"Brandon is refusing to tutor me" I said.

"I didn't refuse, I just sai-"

"He'll do it, don't worry" she smiled. "I'm going to go make dinner, it'll be ready in an hour. If you need anything just ask me, okay?"

I swear, the only person that Brandon is scared of is his mom. If you want something done, ask her.

"Well now you're stuck with me" I said.

"Yay" he said sarcastically. "You need to do something for me in return though"

"As if hanging out with me isn't enough of a blessing" I said. "Can't you just think of it as a favour?"

"Fine, you're so lucky I'm such a giving, caring person" he said.

"Yeah, whatever." I said, sipping on the tea his mom gave me.

* * *

"Thanks for dinner, I need to get home. Bye" I said to Brandon's mom, before leaving the house. It was almost 10, so it was pretty dark already. I fumbled for my keys, and literally emptied my bag, but I couldn't find them.

"No no no no" I said, feeling my pockets to see if they were there.

"I. Am. So. Dumb" I said, banging my head on my door with each word.

 _Well I'm fucked._

I left my damn keys inside. And no one is home.

Great, just _great._

What am I supposed to do, sleep outside?

I looked over to Brandon's house.

With no other option, I went back to Brandon's house and knocked on the door.

 _This is so embarrassing. Why am I such a dumbass. Why?_

"Stella?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw Brandon, who was shirtless, only wearing a pair of grey joggers standing in front of me.

 _Holy fuckin' shit._

 _It's even better up close._

 _Like...god damn._

 _Wait. Why do I care about how hot he is? I mean-_

"Distracted?" he winked.

"Shut up" I muttered.

"Shouldn't you be home? Did you forget something?" he asked.

"I, um...well, you see I kinda sorta..." I stuttered.

 _Spit it out Stel!_

"I left my keys in my house because well I didn't know my mom and Angelo were gonna be gone for the weekend and I forgot the fact that I forgot them before leaving your house and I'm stuck out here now so I'm-"

"You wanna spend the night here?" he asked, cutting my rant short.

"Could I?" I asked.

"Is that even a question anymore?" he said, probably referring to the numerous slumber parties I've had with Liam or the time I had to live at his house anyway.

"Mom, Stella's spending the night because she forgot her keys" Brandon yelled, as I shut the door behind me.

"Enough making fun of me, I'm an idiot I know" I said, nudging his shoulder as he started to laugh.

"That's fine" she yelled back.

"I presume you want something to wear?" he said.

"I have a pair of shorts I left somewhere in Liam's closet, but I'll need a shirt" I said.

"Can't you use one of Liam's" he asked.

"Are you kidding? That boy literally never does laundry" I said.

"Good point. Get one from my room, I'm gonna go shower" he said.

I went into Liam's room first, and after digging in a huge pile of clothes I finally found my grey pyjama shorts. After that, I scurried through Brandon's drawer and grabbed a black adidas shirt. It actually smelled kinda good, unlike most of the guys I know who literally drown their clothes in deodorant.

Once again, I'm making weird remarks. Either I'm crazy or the fevers getting to my head.

After Brandon came out, I went to shower and then changed. I wanted to go straight to sleep, trust me I did, but Brandon practically forced me to stay up and play video games with him for some reason.

And you know what else? He was still shirtless. I mean I couldn't help it and found myself staring at him. Even in the dark, with only his TV screen on, you can see his perfect abs.

 _What's wrong with me. Honestly, I must be really sick to be looking at Brandon this much._

"Why are you making me stay up again?" I yawned, looking at the time. It was almost 1:30am.

"I told Liam I'd wait up and open the door for him. And I'm being extremely kind and thoughtful, I brought you everything you begged for" he said.

"I didn't beg for anything" I said.

"Brandon, get me juice. Brandon, give me a blanket I'm cold. Brandon, I'm hungry, I want Doritos." he said, mocking me.

"Whatever" I mumbled, realising he was kinda right.

Okay, I didn't boss him around, but when the opportunity came for him to be my slave, I took it. It's not like I was making him cater to my every need.

Note the sarcasm.

"Liam just texted, he's outside" Brandon said, before going downstairs to let him in.

"Hey Stel, whatcha doing here?" Liam asked.

"I forgot my keys and my mom and Angelo are out. How was the date?" I asked.

"Good. You feeling better?" he asked.

"Kinda. But Brandon forced me to stay up so I'm going to bed before I fall asleep on the spot, night" I said, before going the the guest room, or the 'Stella room', since it was literally my second bedroom. I crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Heyy, yup I'm alive. This was kinda late ik sorryyyy. School is eating me alive like no lie we had a maths test on THE FIRST WEEK BACK TF. I survived a whole month, but why do the weekends go so fast :'(**

 **Anyways, did you guys like this chap? So obviously a certain blonde is catching feelings, she just doesn't know it yet. But she will realise it soon. And there'll be a Brandon POV chapter somewhere along the road too.**

 **Love you all** ㈎9


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